FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gibraltar

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what form consultations with the Government of Gibraltar will take prior to the next meeting with Spain under the terms of the Brussels Process.

Peter Hain: Ministers and officials will continue actively to maintain and pursue contacts with the Chief Minister and Government of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what future discussion he has planned with the Governor of Gibraltar.

Peter Hain: Normal contacts between Ministers and officials and the Governor of Gibraltar will continue.

Gibraltar

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision will be taken on the model adopted by Gibraltar for the 2004 European elections; and what discussions he has had with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar on the participation of Gibraltar in the 2004 European elections.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer (UIN 21531) I gave to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) on 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 632W.

Gibraltar

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Spanish Government and (b) EU partners regarding participation of Gibraltar in the 2004 European elections.

Peter Hain: Following the European Court of Human Rights' judgment in Matthews v. UK, the extension of the European parliamentary franchise to Gibraltar was discussed with our EU partners in the relevant Council working group.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride) on 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 312W.

Gibraltar

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he proposes to introduce legislation to allow Gibraltar to participate in the 2004 European elections; and when the next round of discussions under the Brussels process will take place.

Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 800W; and to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 311W.

Zimbabwe

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Southern African Governments about the situation in Zimbabwe.

Ben Bradshaw: Ministers and officials at all levels are in regular contact with representatives of Southern African Governments. My noble Friend Baroness Amos has recently spoken to representatives of the South African, Malawian, Mozambican and Zimbabwean Governments, among others. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Botswana Foreign Minister on 3 December and plans to meet him again during the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on 20 December.

Oman

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Oman.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State has no plans to visit Oman at present.

EU Accession

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's position for the date of entry to the European Union of the applicant countries.

Peter Hain: The Laeken European Council (14–15 December) stated its determination to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2002 with those candidates that are ready, so they can participate in the 2004 European Parliament elections as members. The Government welcome these conclusions, which echo the objective set by the Prime Minister in Warsaw last year.

General Affairs Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the General Affairs Council held in Brussels on 10 to 11 December; what the Government's position was on each issue discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I represented the UK at the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Brussels on 10 December.
	The GAC adopted the 16 "A" Points listed in document number 15005/01. It also noted the resolutions, decisions and opinions adopted by the European Parliament in its part-session of 12–15 November 2001 in its part-session in Strasbourg listed in document number 13612/01. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Conclusions of the Council were adopted by consensus. The only formal vote took place on the Generalised System of Preferences (see following). Work in other Council Formations
	The Presidency drew attention to the Secretariat's stocktaking report of the main issues being discussed by other sectoral meetings of the Council of Ministers, with particular reference to the European Arrest Warrant, Galileo and the Community Patent.
	Preparations for Laeken (including Council Reform)
	The Presidency issued a draft agenda for the first day of the Laeken summit. The following items featured:
	post-11 September—an updated road-map and report of EU action
	Afghanistan
	the Middle East Peace Process
	the Western Balkans
	ESDP
	Justice and Home Affairs
	EU enlargement
	Economic/social issues (taking forward the Lisbon process to Barcelona, Community Patent, introduction of the euro).
	modalities for a Convention on the Future of the EU
	EU agency locations. Enlargement
	Conclusions were agreed by Council underlining the EU's commitment to meeting the Gothenburg timetable, noting that enlargement was affordable within the current financial perspective, welcoming the recent signs of progress in the UN Cyprus process and confirming that the provisions of a Cyprus settlement could be accommodated within the terms of its accession to the EU. The UK welcomed in particular the emphasis on meeting the timetable set at the Gothenburg European Council.
	EU follow-up to 11 September
	The Council, as co-ordinator of the EU's Action Plan against terrorism, examined the updated roadmap outlining the current state of play. It was encouraged by substantial development made, particularly in priority areas. It also welcomed the Presidency's prospective report to the Laeken European Council on the implementation of the Action Plan.
	The Council reached political agreement on EU measures to freeze terrorist assets in pursuit of UN Security Council Resolution 1373. The Council also agreed to consider further the implications of the 11 September attacks for EU non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control policy.
	The Council welcomed progress made on 7 December on the European arrest warrant, a common definition of terrorist offences and minimum sentencing thresholds and a decision to make Eurojust fully operational. It reiterated the Union's commitment to winning the fight against terrorism and welcomed the support of candidate countries as noted at the meeting of the European Conference on 20 October. The UK underlined the need for continuing work to ensure rapid implementation of the commitments made by the Union.
	General System of Preferential Tariffs 2002–04
	The Council adopted by a qualified majority the new GSP Regulation, which provides for enhanced EC trade preferences to developing countries. All member states except Portugal voted for the regulation. Governance White Paper
	The Council noted with interest the measures proposed in the Commission's White Paper on European governance. It undertook to hold a detailed discussion at a subsequent meeting, giving the Commission its reaction in due course and aimed to co-ordinate a plan of action during the first half of 2002. The UK is keen to see a debate on the measures proposed in the White Paper.
	ESDP
	The Presidency's draft report, summarising progress over the last six months on the European Security and Defence Policy, was discussed by Ministers and will be forwarded to the European Council at Laeken. The UK supported the draft report and in particular the emphasis on capabilities.
	Middle East Peace Process
	The Council reiterated its commitment to the Middle East peace process. It concluded that only determined and concerted action by the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and the Russian Federation would help break the cycle of violence and restore the negotiations.
	The Council noted that this required: the reaffirmation and full recognition of Israel's irrevocable right to live in peace and security within internationally recognised borders; the establishment of a viable and democratic Palestinian State; and an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories.
	The Council stated that, as a first step, the following pledges had to be given: by the Palestinian authority to dismantle Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist networks plus a public appeal for an end to the armed intifada; from Israel, a pledge to withdraw its military forces, end extrajudicial executions, lift all restrictions imposed on the Palestinian people, and impose a freeze on settlements.
	The Council asked Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP, to go to the region and report back to Laeken European Council. The UK supported this proposal.
	Afghanistan
	The Council confirmed the appointment of Klaus Klaiber, a senior German diplomat, as EU Special Representative for Afghanistan. The Council adopted Conclusions underlining the importance of effective donor co-ordination in the reconstruction effort. The UK emphasised the importance of early, visible results.
	Western Balkans
	The Council noted that the planned Macedonia donors' conference would not be held before next year, after the adoption of the local self-government law required by the August 2001 Framework Agreement. It confirmed the appointment of Erhard Busek as EU Special Representative for the Stability Pact.
	AOB: Gender Mainstreaming in the EuroMed/Barcelona Process
	The Presidency reported on its programme for developing gender mainstreaming in the Barcelona Process, highlighting its EuroMed conference on the role of women in economic development.

Egypt

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been issued for settlement for spouses from Egypt in the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The total number of settlement visas issued in Cairo between 1996 and 2000 is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1996 104 
			 1997 164 
			 1998 185 
			 1999 194 
			 2000 152 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures do not distinguish between spouse and other settlement visas. This information could be obtained only by mutual search of Post's records, at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office has provided the following information on the number of settlement applications received from Egyptian nationals at all ports, which resulted in the applications being accepted.
	
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1996 190 
			 1997 190 
			 1998 210 
			 1999 210 
			 2000 210 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for both spouses and unmarried partners, rounded to the nearest five.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Yemen.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State has no plans to visit Yemen at present.

Afghanistan

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about British diplomatic representation in Kabul.

Ben Bradshaw: Following discussions with the incoming Interim Administration, we expect to renew diplomatic relations with Afghanistan on 22 December and to re-designate the Office of the British Representative in Kabul as an embassy, headed by a Chargé d'Affaires. We last had permanent diplomatic representation in Kabul in 1989. We did not have normal government-to-government dealings with the Taliban regime.

Data Protection

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the certificates he has signed under section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998, covering personal data processed by (a) the SIS and (b) GCHQ.

Jack Straw: On 8 December I revoked Data Protection Act exemption certificates dated 30 July 2000 and issued new ones. I have placed copies of the new certificates, and a statement outlining the reasoning behind their issue, in the Library of the House.

Regional Funding

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had regarding the implications of European Union enlargement on regional structural fund programmes in Wales.

Alan Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	There have so far been no specific discussions on the implications of EU enlargement for the Structural Funds programmes in Wales. However, as the Minister in the DTI responsible for the Structural Funds, I represented the UK at an informal meeting of EU regional policy Ministers held in Namur on 13 July under the Belgian Presidency of the EU, at which the Structural Funds was the main item on the agenda. More recently, I also touched on the subject with Michel Barnier, European Commissioner responsible for Regional Affairs, during his visit to the UK in early November. On both these occasions I put forward the current UK position that there should be a thorough review of the purpose and added value of the Structural Funds, and of the balance between the role of the EU and that of member states in providing assistance to lagging regions, before we enter into a debate about the implications for different member states, nations and regions of possible future Structural Funds regimes.

Small Businesses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2000, Official Report, column 230W, on small businesses, how many of the improvements listed have been instigated; and what is his assessment of (a) the costs and (b) benefits to business therefrom.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	Heads of Government will review progress on reform undertaken as a result of the Lisbon and Stockholm European Councils at their Council in Barcelona in March 2002.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Trial Delays (Counsel)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the circumstances in which major trials have been delayed recently owing to commitment of Counsel to other cases for which they have agreed to be instructed which are listed at the same time.

Harriet Harman: It is important that major trials are conducted expeditiously in the interests of justice. Decisions as to the timing of trials are for the judges to determine, bearing in mind the representations that they receive. I am aware of the case to which this question refers, the name of which I am omitting since the matter is sub judice; however, I hope that the following information will be of assistance. The trial was originally fixed to commence on 2 October 2001. Application was made on behalf of one defendant for that date to be vacated due to serious illness rendering him unfit to stand trial. The matter was investigated by the Crown Prosecution Service and an independent medical report confirmed the position.
	The case was therefore listed again before the trial judge to fix a new date. At this hearing it was clear that the first defendant would not be fit for trial for a period of six months. All parties, prosecution and the four defendants, were agreed that it was in the interests of justice that all should be tried together. However, when Counsel for the Crown sought a listing on the first available date in April 2002, six months ahead, Counsel for another defendant opposed this, on the grounds that neither he nor his junior, who had represented their client from the first appearance before the Crown court, would be available until the end of October 2002, and it would be unjust to deprive him of both counsel in those circumstances.
	The Counsel for the prosecution opposed a delay of this length. In the event, the trial judge, having accepted that a delay until April was unavoidable because of the first defendant's illness and having weighed all the competing interests, ruled, with, she said, great reluctance, that the trial should be fixed for 4 November 2002.
	One defendant involved in these proceedings is already serving a sentence of imprisonment having been convicted following an earlier linked trial.

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the legal implications for the United Kingdom of the adjudication of the United Nations International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, Ireland v. United Kingdom, on the Sellafield MOX plant, given on 3 December in Hamburg.

Peter Hain: I have been asked to reply.
	By its order of 3 December 2002, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea "pending a decision by the Annexe VII arbitral tribunal" prescribed a provisional measure that Ireland and the United Kingdom "shall co-operate and shall for this purpose enter into consultations forthwith in order to:
	(a) exchange further information with regard to possible consequences for the Irish Sea arising out of the commissioning of the MOX plant;
	(b) monitor risks or the effects of the operation of the MOX plant for the Irish Sea;
	(c) devise, as appropriate, measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment which might result from the operation of the MOX plant."
	This provisional measure is legally binding and the United Kingdom will comply fully with it.

Staff

John Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Cabinet Office.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the contribution made by the New Audiences Fund to the efforts to widen access to the arts;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase access to the performing arts by attracting new audiences.

Kim Howells: Attendance figures at organisations funded by the Arts Council of England increased by nearly 2 million between 1999–2000 and 2000–01. The contribution of the New Audiences Programme to this improvement is set out in the 2001 DCMS annual report.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement to devolve decision-making to the regions;
	(2)  if the New Opportunities Fund has established a network of regionally based staff in pursuit of the PSA target to devolve decision-making to the regions and strengthen regional bodies.

Kim Howells: The Regional Cultural Consortiums have all produced regional cultural strategies. The Heritage Lottery Fund in England is now devolved to nine separate regional decision-making committees and by April 2002 the fund will open offices in each English region. The New Opportunities Fund now has a regional team and one representative in each region.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to work with the British film industry to implement a new joint funded strategy for the development of the industry;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to develop film culture and a sustainable domestic film industry;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the target for improving strategic mechanisms for influencing anti-fraud standards in sponsored bodies;
	(4)  if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for performance- related funding agreements of non-departmental public bodies.

Kim Howells: The current position is set out in the Department's 2001 Annual Report (CM5114).

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what standard performance targets have been incorporated in the funding agreements of her Department's sponsored museums and galleries.

Kim Howells: The following core performance targets appear in the current funding agreements
	Number of total visitors
	Number of adult visitors
	Number of child visitors
	Number of over-60s visitors
	Number of website visits
	Number of UK and overseas loan venues
	Percentage of collection stored in correct environmental conditions
	Percentage of collection internet-accessible
	Number of learners in on-site educational programmes
	Grant-in-aid per visitor
	Average days lost sick per employee excluding long-term sickness.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target of extending social inclusiveness by increasing the involvement of identified priority groups in each of the sectors for which her Department has responsibility.

Kim Howells: In January this year, DCMS published a sectoral social inclusion strategy for libraries, museums, galleries and archives. Counterpart documents on the historic and built environment and on the arts will follow. In its follow-up report to the work of the Policy Action Team 10 on Arts and Sport, published in February 2201, the Department also presented an action plan for disabled people and an outline action plan for people from ethnic minorities.
	DCMS is working with the Arts Council of England to develop the £40 million Creative Partnerships programme, bringing together arts and media professionals with children in 16 deprived areas. All pilots will be up and running by April 2002. DCMS is also working alongside Department for Education and Skills, the New Opportunities Fund, Sport England and the Arts Council of England on the Space for Sport and Arts programme. This will fund new or renovated sports and arts facilities in around 300 primary schools in 65 deprived local education authority areas.
	The Millennium Commission made decisions on their fifth funding round in June 2001, for projects that reflect the aims and aspirations of ethnic minority communities in the UK. The Commission awarded 10 grants with a total value of £23.6 million. Grants were awarded during 2000 for projects that reflected the aims and aspirations of black communities in the UK.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Public Service Agreement target to transfer her Department's responsibility for underwater archaeology to English Heritage.

Kim Howells: The Government are supporting a Private Member's Bill introduced into another place in July 2001 by Baroness Anelay of St. Johns, which includes provisions that were originally in the Culture and Recreation Bill to transfer underwater archaeology to English Heritage. The Bill has completed its passage through the other place and will shortly be introduced into the Commons.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the margin of failure to achieve the target for reduced sickness absence in the Royal Parks Agency in 2001;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to assist the Royal Parks Agency in meeting its 2003 target for reduced sickness absence.

Kim Howells: The Chief Executive of the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) is responsible for meeting the targets set for reduced sick absence. He has put in place a strategy to deliver improved performance in this area. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State monitors the performance of the parks through a funding agreement. Should the RPA fail to meet any of its targets the Chief Executive is required to report this to the Secretary of State.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target of increasing visitor numbers in major national museums.

Kim Howells: Visitors to DCMS sponsored museums and galleries increased by 22 per cent. in 2000–01. Child visitors have increased by up to 20 per cent. since 1 April 1999 and visits from people over 60 increased by 40 per cent. in 2000–01. Free access for all to permanent collections held by DCMS sponsored museums was introduced on 1 December 2001.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target of promoting quality tourism development.

Kim Howells: Using the performance measure of the level of expenditure in the United Kingdom by domestic and overseas tourists, the target for 2000, £29.1 billion, was exceeded with an outturn of £38.9 billion.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the target for answering external correspondence.

Kim Howells: In the period April-October 2001 (latest figures) 88 per cent. of all external correspondence was answered within 18 working days.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of improved performance as a result of redeveloped funding agreements with non-departmental public bodies.

Kim Howells: It is too early to make a full assessment because the new funding agreements came into effect in April of this year. Regular six-monthly reports on the funding agreement targets will be monitored by the Department and will feed into the assessment of progress towards the value-for-money target in the DCMS 2001–04 Public Service Agreement.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the target for the effective use of her Department's estate.

Kim Howells: The progress statement in the Department's 2001 Annual Report is still current. With regard to the property at 7 St. James's Square, this has been disposed of by assigning the lease.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of invoices to her Department in 2000–01 were undisputed.

Kim Howells: In 2000–01, 99.4 per cent. of invoices were undisputed.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the target for the review of her Department's services and activities.

Kim Howells: The Department is on schedule to meet its current Service Delivery Agreement target to review 50 per cent. (by expenditure) of its services and activities by December 2004. We completed a review of facilities management, accounting for 8 per cent. of spend, in 1999–2000; the function was contracted out. We are about to carry out a review of the core functions of policy-making and sponsorship of non-departmental public bodies. This review will account for a further 40 per cent. and will be completed during 2002–03. Information technology support (5 per cent.) will be reviewed in 2003–04, when contracts are up for renewal.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for long-term savings in the support for heritage, sport and tourism.

Kim Howells: The Department is currently conducting the second stage of a Quinquennial Review of Sport England and the first stage of a review of English Heritage. These reviews will examine, among other issues, the scope for improvements in efficient, effective and responsive service delivery. Following the reconstitution of the English Tourist Board as the English Tourism Council (ETC), resources have been freed up to allow an increase in support to the English Regional Tourist Boards of over a third.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target of ensuring that public service broadcasters sustain the quality and range of their output.

Kim Howells: On 13 September 2001, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave the BBC approval to launch three new digital television channels—BBC4 and two children's channels—and five new digital radio channels. The approval was subject to conditions, including commitments to high quality, interactivity and the use of home-grown talent and productions. The new channels should educate and inform as well as entertain, and they should attract a wider range of viewers to all digital services. On 4 December 2001, my right hon. Friend received an application from the BBC to launch BBC3, a channel targeted at younger people, which will be considered in accordance with the published criteria for BBC new services.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for the number of new educational sessions undertaken by arts organisations.

Kim Howells: Estimates based on returns received by the Arts Council of England indicate that the PSA target has been exceeded.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the target for the disposal of surplus properties at St. Pancras has been achieved.

Kim Howells: The land to the north of the British Library at St. Pancras has been temporarily transferred to the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, for purposes connected with the channel tunnel rail link. Once the land is returned to DCMS, disposal will be considered in the light of available opportunities.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the target for the reduction of running costs as a proportion of the departmental expenditure limit.

Kim Howells: On the basis of my Department's current expenditure limits for the financial years 2001–02 to 2003–04, the average annual reduction in running costs is forecast to be approximately 4 per cent.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on performance against the target for the Millennium celebrations.

Kim Howells: The Department remains committed to co-ordinating the Government's interest in the Millennium following an array of successful celebrations during the year 2000. After the closure of the Millennium Experience on 31 December 2000 which was operated by the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), the Department has continued to worked closely with the Millennium Commission which is distributing over £2 billion of Lottery funds. The commission has invested carefully and the projects it has funded will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
	The commission's projects have created an estimated 13,300 permanent jobs and many capital projects have also acted as a catalyst for the regeneration of key areas throughout the country. Projects have levered in significant additional funding from a wide variety of sources, and the capital projects programme has constituted 1.35 per cent. of the total UK construction industry by value since 1994.
	A study into the economic impact of the Millennium Experience at Greenwich which was jointly commissioned by NMEC, English Partnerships and the London borough of Greenwich, has established that the Dome eventually generated contracts worth more than £500 million for UK companies; generated £385 million in direct spending by visitors on transport, accommodation, catering etc.; provided work for over 7,700 people in construction and over 5,000 in management and operation between 1997 and 2000; and led to the regeneration of nearly 300 acres of formerly derelict, contaminated land.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target to raise standards of care of museum collections and public access to them.

Kim Howells: Since 1999, the Designated Museums Challenge Scheme has provided support for each museum with designated collections. £15 million has been awarded to help improve the care of and access to those collections, in recognition of their outstanding importance. The number of museums in the scheme was increased to 62 in 1999.

Works of Art

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by the Government since 1 May 1997 on acquiring works of art; and how much has been realised from the sale of works of art.

Kim Howells: Since 1 May 1997 the Government Art Collection has spent £688,000 on purchases of works of art. No works of art have been sold from the Government Art Collection. The Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office has spent approximately £506,501 and the Department for Education and Skills approximately £26,451.
	We have been notified of no other purchases or sales by other Government Departments.

Public Libraries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries there were in the Buckingham constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Kim Howells: There are eight public libraries in the Buckingham constituency: Buckingham; Haddenham; Ivinghoe; Long Crendon; Steeple Claydon; Stewkley; Wing; and Winslow. This is the same number as in 1997. The Buckingham mobile library (full-time) and the Aylesbury Urban and Aylesbury Rural mobiles (part- time), also serve the constituency.

Public Libraries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the percentage of adults in the Buckingham constituency that are library members.

Kim Howells: Such statistics are not maintained on a constituency basis, and Buckinghamshire do not currently differentiate between adult and child members. However, Buckinghamshire county council's statistics show that 75 per cent. of the population of the county are library members. This is in excess of the national average.

Public Libraries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the libraries based in the Buckingham constituency which have received funding from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge indicating (a) the nature of the project, (b) the date of the award and (c) the amount of funding provided in each case.

Kim Howells: No libraries in the Buckinghamshire constituency have been successful in their applications for match funding from the DCMS/Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund since the programme began in 1998.

Arts Bodies

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the evidence presented in the Arts Council of England's two consultation periods; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Following the first consultation my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wanted to see proposals which created a dynamic new organisation; brought the regions into the heart of the funding system; delegated real decision making to regional level; set challenging targets for administrative savings; was simpler and more consistent for those applying for funding.
	We are confident that the new proposals will deliver this.
	The Secretary of State has just received a progress report following the second consultation exercise and will respond to the Arts Council in due course.

PFI/PPP Contracts

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) PFI and (b) PPP contracts her Department maintains; if she will list those contracts, giving their (i) length and (ii) value, and the businesses involved in fulfilling them; what assessment she has made of those contracts; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not itself entered into any PFI or PPP contracts. The Royal Parks Agency, which is an executive agency, has entered into one PFI contract, Pembroke Lodge, Richmond, relating to the restoration of building and operation of catering facilities, which is to last for 30 years. Its value is £1 million, and The Hearsum Family Ltd. is fulfilling the contract. The Agency has employed consultants to advise on whether construction works are compliant with the contract.

Gambling Report

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many responses the Government have received to recommendations (a) 60, (b) 61, (c) 62, (d) 63 and (e) 64 of the Gambling report, indicating how many (i) supported, (ii) opposed and (iii) were in neutral in respect of each recommendation.

Richard Caborn: By the end of the consultation period we had received 20 responses supporting and 10 opposing recommendation 60, nine responses supporting and seven opposing recommendation 61; 11 responses supporting and 11 opposing recommendation 62; eight responses supporting and 10 opposing recommendation 63; and nine responses supporting and 13 opposing recommendation 64. A very much larger number of responses did not specifically refer to this group of recommendations. Since these we have received a number of further letters from hon. Members enclosing correspondence from constituents operating or employed in businesses involving gaming machines which children may currently play, criticising the recommendations.

Gambling Report

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the impact on the Government's policies to regenerate seaside resorts of the implementation of recommendations 60–64 of the Gambling Review report;
	(2)  what estimate the Government have made of the impact on jobs of the implementation of recommendations 60–64 of the Gambling Review report.

Richard Caborn: We have not yet completed out consideration of the report.

Betting Levy Board

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the use by the Betting Levy Board of its general funds to finance a pension shortfall.

Richard Caborn: The Horserace Betting Levy Board is responsible for its pension commitments and may properly use Levy income for these purposes.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received about making the Millennium Dome a listed building; what the earliest possible date for listing the Dome would be; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received no representations this year about making the Dome a listed building. The general rule when looking at buildings for listing is that those less than 10 years old are not eligible for consideration. There is no reason for us to adopt a different policy for the Millennium Dome.

Public Entertainment Licences

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received regarding the issuing of public entertainment licences; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Representations from hon. Members, industry, performers and licensing law practitioners concerning public entertainment licensing law have tended to fall into five main categories. These are concerns about inconsistent approaches adopted by different licensing authorities; the scope for local licensing authorities to impose disproportionate and burdensome requirements on smaller venues; the duplication of the requirements with the fire safety and health and safety regulations; some evidence of excessive fee charging; and the limitations on the exemption from public entertainment licensing for public houses in the Licensing Act 1964. Changes to public entertainment licensing laws require primary legislation, and our reform of the alcohol and public entertainment licensing laws will address these anxieties. We shall present the necessary legislation as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

"Time for Reform"

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to implement the proposals outlined in 'Time for Reform'; what estimate she has made of the time scale for implementation; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We remain fully committed to the proposals set out in the White Paper "Time for Reform" and intend to introduce legislation to implement them. The timetable for implementation inevitably depends on when it will be possible to introduce the necessary legislation in Parliament and this will be done as soon as parliamentary time permits.

Capital Assets

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, column 889W, on capital assets, if she will place in the Library information on the accounting treatment of the public private partnership projects relating to (a) British Library corporate bibliographic services, (b) British Library provision of catering services and (c) the Royal Parks Embassy Pembroke Lodge; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The contract for the British Library corporate bibliographic services project has been terminated. I refer the hon. Member to the Minister for Sport's letter of 18 November 2001 to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws), a copy of which has been placed in the Library. The British Library provision of catering services project is treated as the purchase of services and is accounted for off balance sheet. The Royal Parks Agency Pembroke Lodge project is accounted for on balance sheet in accordance with the Accounting Standards Board's Statement of Standard Accounting Practice—Accounting for Leases and Hire Purchase Contracts.

Regional Arts Boards

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date she received the responses to consultations about the Arts Council of England's proposals to merge the regional arts boards to create a single organisation for arts funding; and if she will place a copy of the responses in the Library.

Kim Howells: The Arts Council of England has submitted a progress report on its proposed reorganisation on 29 November 2001. This includes a summary of responses to the consultation and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will respond to this in due course.

Regional Arts Boards

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date she received the business plan supporting the Arts Council of England's proposals to merge the regional arts boards to create a single organisation for arts funding; and if she will place a copy of the plan in the Library.

Kim Howells: On 29 November my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received a progress report on which she will respond shortly.

Regional Arts Boards

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the Chairman of the Arts Council of England's handling of the proposals to merge the regional arts boards to create a single organisation for arts funding.

Kim Howells: The Government have every confidence in the ability of the Chairman of the Arts Council to deliver a streamlined system for funding the arts in this country. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received a progress report to which she will respond shortly.

Regional Arts Boards

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will assess the Arts Council of England's proposals to create a single organisation for arts funding against the criteria for new organisations established by her Department.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received a progress report from the Arts Council of England, which she will assess against her original criteria. These are to create a dynamic new organisation which brings regions to the heart of the funding system, delegates decision making, sets challenging targets for administrative savings and is simpler and more consistent for those applying for funding.

Go Digital

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Go Digital research programme.

Kim Howells: The Go Digital pilot project, being led by the Independent Television Commission, and comprising Government and industry partners, has been established to trial the conversion of 300 homes to digital television. Its aim is to address technical and social issues related to switchover. We expect the conversion of 30 homes comprising the first phase of the trial to take place early in 2002.

Arts Funding

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the funding of arts in England.

Kim Howells: Arts funding in England is now higher than it has ever been. Funding will rise to £338 million by 2003–04 which represents an increase of over £100 million over four years.

Arts Subsidies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the total spending by her Department in the next 12 months in subsidising (a) live drama, (b) art galleries, (c) ballet, (d) opera and (e) literature.

Kim Howells: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport allocates funds to the Arts Council of England, which in turn allocates funds to the regional arts boards as appropriate, and to those arts organisations that it deems most deserving and which meet the criteria set for the various funding programmes. The Department allocated a total of £252.2 million to the Arts Council for 2001–02 and £297 million to the Arts Council for 2002–03.

TREASURY

Pension Credit

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients will pay an effective marginal tax rate of 40 per cent. as a result of the pension credit.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	Most pensioners do not pay tax. Very few of those receiving pension credit will be liable. Pension credit is not taxable.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many formal notices his Department has received in the last year from the Parliamentary Ombudsman expressing an intention to carry out an investigation; and in respect of each notice how long it took to respond.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 27 November 2001
	Information on the outcome of statutory investigations which were concluded during 2000–01 are set out in the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2000–01, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, or on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/par01/index.htm.
	Since 1 April 2001, the Treasury has received three new statutory statements of complaint from the Parliamentary Ombudsman. So far, the Treasury has responded to all three of these cases, and the average time taken to respond overall is 24 days.

National Health Service

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy not to allow (a) social insurance, (b) a ring-fenced hypothecated tax and (c) additional health user charges as solutions for the future funding mechanism for the national health service; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: The Government have made their commitment to increasing resources over the next three years for the NHS, funded from general taxation and linked to reform. Decisions on taxation and spending will be taken in future Budgets and in the spending review next year.

Financial Services Authority

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent the FSA complied with the service level agreement concluded on 18 December 1998 in (a) 1999 and (b) 2000.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 9 November 2001, Official Report, columns 489–90W.

Equitable Life

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the reserves of using them for compensation payments for Equitable Life policy-holders.

Ruth Kelly: Equitable Life's reserves are a matter for the board of Equitable life and its members.

Treasury Website

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the latest overhaul of the HM Treasury website cost; and what the breakdown of spending on the website has been in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: HM Treasury's new website was launched in November this year and replaces the site originally launched in 1994, which was struggling to cope with the levels of traffic it attracted on Budget day.
	The new site is designed to cope with the growing demands being placed upon the Treasury's website, to offer a better service to the public, and to ensure that the Treasury is prepared for future technological developments.
	On PBR day the new site was accessed by 20,000 visitors who between them downloaded 183,250 separate documents. This represents a 50 per cent. growth in the number of recorded visitors to the site compared with Budget 2001. There were no reports of anyone being unable to access the site.
	This new, more robust site employs completely new computer hardware and software so that it can handle both the tens of thousands of visitors that it receives on Budget day and the increasing number of Treasury documents being made available on the site. The latest version of the site includes new services, such as a comprehensive search facility. It is also designed to cope with emergent technologies, such as mobile internet devices and digital television.
	The total cost of launching the new site was £240,595. This included the costs of purchasing new computer hardware and software, software development and integration, and web page design.
	This is the first capital expenditure by the Treasury on the www.hm-treasury.gov.uk site since it was launched in 1994.
	This investment is intended to ensure that the Treasury is ready to meet its current and future information obligations.

Pension Funds

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what HM Treasury's estimate is of the asset mix of UK pension funds in (a) 2005 and (b) 2010;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on his assessment of the implications of current trends in respect of the equity/bond asset mix of UK pension funds for (a) overall equity risk and (b) access to equity finance for small companies.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has made no forecast of the asset mix of UK pension funds. However, it keeps developments in financial markets under constant review.

War Risk Insurance

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost was of the Government's decision to underwrite the third party war risk insurance for UK airline and service providers.

Andrew Smith: The total cost of the scheme is unquantifiable at this time, as it depends on potential claims—if any—made under the scheme to the Treasury as reinsurer. Full details of the scheme and the liabilities entered into were submitted to Parliament in a Treasury Minute of 28 November 2001.

Parliamentary Questions

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the question of 15 October from the hon. Member for Hertsmere, on the subject of fraud and the WFTC.

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so today, at columns 323-24W.

Benefit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to (a) encourage and (b) enable the public to provide information about fraudulent or improper claims for working families tax credit or other tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue treats all information received from members of the public about suspected fraud, including tax credit fraud, very seriously. Members of the public are able to inform the Inland Revenue about potential fraudulent or improper claims to tax credits in a number of ways. They can write to or telephone the Tax Credit Office or a local office or telephone a helpline, including the Benefits Anti-fraud Hotline. The Tax Credit Office also has a Childcare Tax Credit Hotline for child care providers to give information of suspected improper claims for child care costs.

Benefit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employers have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted in respect of fraudulent claims for (i) working families tax credit and (ii) other tax credits in each year since the relevant credit commenced.

Dawn Primarolo: (a) In 2000–01, routine checks were carried out on the payroll records of approximately 6,800 employers who made payments of tax credits to their employees. The checks established that the vast majority of employers were operating tax credit payments correctly.
	In addition, 199 employer cases were taken up by local offices for action in 2000–01 where the Tax Credit Office suspected error or breakdown of the payment system. Of those cases
	13 resulted in recovery of tax credits and payment of penalties;
	161 were settled in other ways, for instance by giving educational assistance and explanations to the employer, that enabled the employee to receive the tax credits due to them;
	25 cases are still working, and the outcome is not yet known.
	(b) There have been no prosecutions of employers in respect of tax credits.

Benefit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) investigations, (b) penalties and (c) prosecutions in respect of (i) working families tax credit and (ii) disabled person's tax credit involved the child care tax credit in each year since the credit commenced.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table lists the number of investigations, penalties and prosecutions involving child care for working families and disabled person's tax credits, broken down into financial years since the schemes began in October 1999.
	
		
			 Period Child care investigations Penalties Prosecutions 
		
		
			  Working families tax credit 
			 1 October 1999 to 31 March 2000 55 2 0 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 263 0 0 
			 1 April 2001 to 30 November 2001 100 0 0 
			 
			 Disabled person's tax credit
			 1 October 1999 to 31 March 2000 1 0 0 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 14 0 0 
			 1 April 2001 to 30 November 2001 5 0 0

Tax Credit Claims

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance is given to resource officers concerning tax credit claims where the claimant is allegedly in receipt of payment at a rate beneath the minimum wage.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue computer system prompts staff looking at working families tax credit applications to check whether the National Minimum Wage is being paid for each employment. The Employment Relations Act 1999 makes provision for information about apparent non-compliant employers to be passed to the National Minimum Wage Unit for further investigation.

Working Families Tax Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department spent to counter fraud in the working families tax credit in nominal terms and expressed as a percentage of the total working families tax credit expenditure in the last three years.

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent of fraud in working families tax credit; how many prosecutions have been undertaken in respect of such fraud; and what plans he has to tackle fraud in WFTC.

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the level of WFTC fraud; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many investigations have been conducted into WFTC fraud; and how many successful prosecutions there have been since the commencement of the scheme.

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) investigations of fraudulent claims, (b) penalties for fraudulent claims, (c) prosecutions of fraudulent claims and (d) successful prosecutions for fraudulent claims there have been in respect of the working families tax credit, since its introduction, broken down into (i) monthly and (ii) quarterly periods.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 28 June 2001
	The Inland Revenue is currently undertaking an exercise to benchmark the level of fraud within the working families tax credit. The full results of this will be known early next year. The findings of this exercise will then be used by the Inland Revenue to ensure that WFTC compliance work is adjusted if necessary.
	The Revenue's approach to compliance is based on the progressive use of civil penalties, and prosecution in cases of criminal fraud.
	The tables show the number of WFTC applications investigated by the Inland Revenue for the period from October 1999 (when the scheme began) to September 2001. Of the applications investigated for this period, 8,852 were closed in the Department's favour by recovering overpaid tax credits. At present, there are 7,560 WFTC investigations under way.
	
		
			  Month ending  WFTC investigations opened in period Total WFTC investigations opened for quarter ending 
		
		
			 1999   
			 October 0 — 
			 November 608 — 
			 December 730 1,338 
			
			 2000   
			 January 1,518 — 
			 February 3,009 — 
			 March 5,189 9,716 
			 April 2,620 — 
			 May 2,930 — 
			 June 2,987 8,537 
			 July 3,012 — 
			 August 3,797 — 
			 September 2,368 9,177 
			 October 1,553 — 
			 November 2,135 — 
			 December 1,692 5,380 
			
			 2001   
			 January 2,446 — 
			 February 2,483 — 
			 March 2,393 7,322 
			 April 1,257 — 
			 May 1,317 — 
			 June 1,486 4,060 
			 July 2,749 — 
			 August 1,349 — 
			 September 1,615 5,713 
		
	
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Approximate number of penalties imposed for false WFTC applications(1) 478 
			 Number of successful prosecutions for false WFTC applications(1) 13 
			 Number of prosecutions for false WFTC applications(1) 22 
			 Number of prosecutions pending as at 22 November 2001 9 
		
	
	(1) October 1999 to September 2001
	While tax credit applications are received and processed centrally, compliance work associated with them is also undertaken in network offices throughout the UK and consequently it is not possible to answer specific questions about the proportion of the Inland Revenue's compliance costs that relate to Tax Credits.

Tax Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome is of the Inland Revenue benchmarking exercise to establish the level of fraud in tax credit claims; if he will place a copy of reports received from the Inland Revenue (a) relating to this exercise and (b) otherwise concerned with fraud in tax credit, in the Library; by what criteria the seriousness of fraud cases is assessed with a view to prosecution; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 3 April 2001, Official Report, column 154W. The Inland Revenue assess cases for prosecution according to their published prosecution policy, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Gentleman.

Rebated Fuels

Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for consultation on the proposal to introduce an approval scheme for distributors of rebated fuels.

Paul Boateng: Customs and Excise today published a formal consultation document on this proposal, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

National Statistics Code of Practice

Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the National Statistics Code of Practice will be released for public consultation.

Ruth Kelly: The National Statistics Code of Practice, which represents a significant step in the implementation of the proposals contained in the White Paper "Building Trust in Statistics" (Cm 3882), is being published today. Copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses and electronic copies are accessible via the National Statistics website www.statistics.gov.uk. The code sets out the professional standards applicable to National Statistics, the range of official statistics that together provide an accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive and meaningful description of the UK economy and society.
	The public consultation will end on 28 March 2002. Responses should be sent by post to James Denman, Room D4/12, ONS, 1 Drummond Gate, London, SW1V 2QQ, or via e-mail to codeofpractice@statistics.gov.uk. Hard copies of the consultation documents are available from either of these addresses.

Debt Management

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK Debt Management Office's debt management accounts.

Ruth Kelly: The first published Debt Management Account covering the period 15 November 1999 to 31 March 2001 is being laid before the House and published today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Aggregates Levy

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of the introduction of the aggregates levy in Scotland; and what the cost will be to Scottish local authorities per year in each of the five years after April 2002.

Paul Boateng: No estimates have been made.

Aggregates Levy

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what aid the Government will provide to businesses in Scotland which will be affected by the aggregates levy.

Paul Boateng: The aggregates levy receipts will be returned to business through a 0.1 percentage point reduction in employers' national insurance contributions, and the £35 million Sustainability Fund. The Government will not provide specific aid to businesses affected by the levy because their objective is to provide an incentive to make more efficient use of virgin aggregate and to use more recycled or alternative materials.

Tax Credit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed by the Inland Revenue in investigating fraudulent claims for tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 31 December 2001, there were a total of 542 Inland Revenue staff involved in investigating possible false applications for tax credits. This figure comprises 27 Investigators and 226 support staff employed centrally at the Tax Credit Office. There are a further 247 Inland Revenue Network staff who also deal with tax credit investigations, and a specialist team of 42 staff dealing with the most serious cases including those resulting in prosecution.

Tax Credit Fraud

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of (a) overpayments and (b) penalties recovered by the Inland Revenue as a result of fraud investigations in respect of each tax credit in each year since their introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: I will write to the hon. Member about this matter and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Air Passenger Duty

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has been raised by air passenger duty in each year since 1997.

Paul Boateng: Receipts of air passenger duty for the financial years 1997–98 to 1999–2000 are published in Table A1 of the tables and statistics accompanying the HM Customs and Excise Annual Report for 2000, available on the Customs and Excise website www.hmce.gov.uk/general/about/index.htm—scroll down to 'Annual Report 2000', click on 'Tables and Statistics'.
	Details for the year 2000–01 can be found in the National Statistics Publication "Financial Statistics" Table 2.1D.

Stamp Duty

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the VAT which will be forgone in this financial year as a result of the new stamp duty exemptions for properties where the price does not exceed £150,000.

Paul Boateng: The stamp duty exemption will have no direct impact on VAT receipts. Any VAT due on the sale of a property is charged before stamp duty is calculated.

Departmental Staff

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W.

National Insurance

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the national insurance fund is in surplus.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to table 2 of the report by the Government Actuary on the drafts of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating (No. 2) Order 2000 and the Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating and National Insurance Funds Payments) Order 2001 (Cm 4933), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Stakeholder Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the first stage of the changes to NIRS2 needed to support the introduction of stakeholder pensions was completed by the October deadline.

Dawn Primarolo: The first stage of changes to NIRS2 needed to support the introduction of stakeholder pensions was delivered on time and to the required standard.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason it was decided to base entitlement to the child tax credit and the working tax credit on current year income.

Dawn Primarolo: No such decision has been taken. It has been decided that tax credits will be based on the income of a tax year. The Tax Credits Bill allows for a variety of approaches to responding to changes in income as between one year and the next.

Tax Credits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of total compliance costs for employers the reduction listed in paragraph 2.20 of the Inland Revenue Regulatory Impact Assessment for the new tax credits is; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The estimated recurrent compliance costs to business of the working families tax credit and the disabled person's tax credit were set out in paragraph 44 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Tax Credits Act 1999 and accompanying regulations (December 1999).

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library (a) a summary and (b) a complete set of the responses to the Inland Revenue consultation paper, "New Tax Credits".

Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury issued a summary of the responses to the Inland Revenue's consultation paper, "New Tax Credits: supporting families, making work pay and tackling poverty" (July 2001). This summary was attached to a Treasury press notice of 29 November 2001 (no. 132/01). A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library. A complete set of responses, except for those we have been asked to keep confidential, has also been placed in the Library.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the minimum age of working tax credit recipients will be.

Dawn Primarolo: Workers with a disability or with children will be eligible for the working tax credit from the age of 16. The minimum age for those without children or a disability is to be set at 25, since those aged 25 or over are more likely to face severe financial barriers to work or suffer persistent poverty.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether entitlement to the child tax credit and the working tax credit will be based on net income.

Dawn Primarolo: No. The Government have decided, in the light of representations received in response to consultation, that entitlement to the working tax credit and the child tax credit will be based on gross income.

Public Expenditure

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the initial voted annually managed expenditure and provisional outturn for financial year 2000–01, as listed in the Treasury document, "Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn", for the accounting and other adjustments category; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: The Treasury document "Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn" presented early estimates of annually managed expenditure accounting adjustments in 2000–01, based on the difference between published national accounts estimates of total spending and Treasury estimates for the identified individual components of spending. Updated estimates, which remain provisional, of the outturn for 2000–01 were published in the 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318), Table B13. The pre-Budget report also includes, in Table B15, a detailed breakdown of accounting and other adjustments.

Public Expenditure

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for 
	(1)  what reason the final departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn rows relating to the Capital Modernisation Fund in Table 1 of the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn are blank; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, columns 769–70W, for what reason the Capital Modernisation Fund capital budget line for financial year 2000–01, Table B16 of the Treasury document, 'pre-Budget report 2001' is blank; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: The line for the CMF 2000–01 is left blank in the public expenditure outturn white paper and the pre-Budget report because the fund for that year was fully allocated to Departments. Allocations for 2001–01 from the CMF have been drawn down into the capital Expenditure Limits for individual departments and will be included in the outturn figures for those departments.

Customs and Excise

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people arriving in the Channel ports in each of the last four years were found to have (a) alcohol and (b) tobacco in excess of EC-defined minimum guide levels; what proportion were unable to satisfy Customs that those goods were for their own use; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people were stopped by HM Customs at the Channel ports in each of the past four years.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 17 December 2001
	While Customs do maintain and publish records on the number of people they have searched and on the numbers of seizures they have made, there are no records either of the total numbers of people spoken to by Customs officers or of the qualities of goods they were carrying.
	Customs use the indicative levels set out in EC legislation as a guide to help distinguish between goods being imported for individuals' own use and goods which may be being imported for a commercial purpose. Customs then consider a range of other factors in order to determine whether goods are actually being brought into the UK for a commercial purpose.
	It is estimated that—in the majority of cases—those individuals with goods in excess of the indicative levels who were stopped and asked questions by Customs when entering the Channel ports in 2000–01 were able to demonstrate that the goods they are carrying were for their own use and were allowed to travel on freely.

Customs and Excise

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has set a specific target for the rate of checks to be carried out by HM Customs and Excise on spirits consignments entering this country under duty suspension, pursuant to paragraph 4.23 of 'Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud'.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 17 December 2001
	No specific targets have been set.

Excise Warehouses

David Lidington: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans he has to strengthen the controls on bonded warehouses within the United Kingdom;
	(2)  when he will complete the review of excise warehouse approvals.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Customs have already begun to strengthen the controls on excise warehouses by increasing the number of visits made to excise warehouses and by extending the range of checks performed during those visits. Customs are also tightening up procedures for the approval of warehouse premises and for the authorisation and registration both of warehouse-keepers and of the owners of excise goods held in warehouses. A review of current warehouse approvals will be completed by 31 March 2002.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him today by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office.

Euro

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the preliminary technical work to be undertaken before the assessment of the five economic tests for Euro entry will be completed.

Ruth Kelly: The Government have said that they will complete an assessment of the Five Tests within two years of the start of this Parliament. The assessment has not yet started, but the necessary preliminary analysis—technical work that is necessary to allow us to undertake the assessment within two years as promised—is under way.

Asbestos Victims

Michael Clapham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what measures he will introduce to stop companies and insurers avoiding their asbestos liabilities;
	(2)  if he will ensure that Treasury officials assist the lawyers acting for UK claimants to co-ordinate their claims against Turner and Newall with lawyers working for creditors against Federal Mogul;
	(3)  what money Turner and Newall put aside for future asbestos claims; and (a) whether this constitutes a trust and (b) how it is affected by the administration order;
	(4)  when he expects the stop that has been placed on compensation cheques by Turner and Newall to be lifted;
	(5)  what action he will take to ensure that the interests of UK asbestos victims are protected during (a) the administration of Turner and Newall and (b) the Chapter II reorganisation of Federal Mogul pending in the USA bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware;
	(6)  what was the basis of the financial package Turner and Newall agreed with a consortium of European re-insurers to cap their asbestos liabilities in November 1996;
	(7)  if he will set up a public inquiry (a) to examine the sale of Turner and Newall to Federal Mogul and (b) to ascertain whether the company has been managed in accordance with good business practice;
	(8)  what the trading position of Turner and Newall is; and on what date it formally stopped trading in the U.K.

Ruth Kelly: Since 1 October, Turner and Newall have been operating under an Administration Order, and as a consequence all legal actions against the company have been stayed. They are continuing to trade. We understand the driver for the administration is to crystallise asbestos claims in the US and UK in a consistent and fair manner so the company can arrange for their payments. The administrators are exploring ways of trying to resolve this problem, and if necessary will seek direction from the courts to do that. We do not yet know when the stay on legal actions will be lifted. The insurance and compensation arrangements surrounding asbestos-related claims against Turner and Newall are very complex, and not yet completely clear. Officials are in contact with the administrators and are looking into this as a matter of urgency. Therefore I am not able to make further comments about Turner and Newall's insurance arrangements or payment of compensation claims.
	Once the situation is clear the Government will be in a position to assess whether and what action is required.

User Fees

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the 2001 IMF Article IV consultation, Concluding Statement, regarding user fees; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Smith: The Government have made their commitment to increasing resources for the NHS over the next three years funded from general taxation and linked to reform. Decisions on taxation and spending will be taken in future Budgets and the Spending Review next year.

Government Underspend

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his forecast is for total Government underspend in this financial year; and what the figures are for (a) health and (b) education.

Andrew Smith: We make no forecast. Provisional outturn data on Supply spending for the Department of Health, Department for Education and Skills and other departments for the first six months of this financial year was shown in Table 1.6 of the Winter Summary Supplementary Request for Supply (HC391) presented on 4 December.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Kevin McNamara: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, when and on how many occasions the Chairman and individual members of the Commission have received complaints concerning the conduct of the Commissioner for Standards.

Archy Kirkwood: holding answer 18 December 2001
	No complaints have been received by the Commission and no individual Commissioner has raised a complaint with the Commission.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will consult the Committee on Standards in Public Life on where responsibility should lie for the appointment of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; and if he will make a statement.

Archy Kirkwood: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended in its first report (Cm 2850), page 43, that the House of Commons itself should take responsibility for appointing a Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Accordingly, at the conclusion of the selection process now under way, the House of Commons Commission proposes to make a recommendation to the House. Any change in the method of appointment would be a matter for decision by the House.

Select Committee on Standards and Privileges

Kevin McNamara: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the annual cost was of meeting the staffing needs of the Select Committee on Standards and Privileges in each year since its establishment; and what his estimate is of the (a) funding requirements and (b) staffing needs of the Select Committee in the next three years.

Archy Kirkwood: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The staff of the Committee consisted of the following:
	
		
			 Date  
		
		
			 As Clerk of the Committee:  
			 November 1995 to October 1997 1 principal clerk 
			 November 1997 to present 1 deputy principal clerk 
			   
			 As Second Clerk:  
			 November 1995 to October 1999 1 senior clerk 
			 November 1999 to October 2000 1 assistant clerk 
			 November 2000 to present 1 senior clerk 
			   
			 and, as secretary:  
			 November 1995 to present 1 secretary grade 3 
		
	
	all of whom had other duties in the Department of the Clerk of the House. It is not possible to specify precisely how much time each of these staff devoted to the work of the Committee, and so it is not possible to calculate a total attributable cost.
	The Committee on Standards and Privileges will continue to be funded and staffed on the same basis as other Select Committees, commensurate with the work load.

Commission

Kevin McNamara: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many times the Commission has met in the past two years; how this body is serviced; how many staff at what grades are attached to the Commission; what the job title is of each post; by what method the staff are recruited; what the breakdown is of employees by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity; and what plans he has to make the work of the Commission more transparent.

Archy Kirkwood: holding answer 18 December 2001
	In the two years to 31 December 2001 the Commission will have met 19 times.
	The Commission is advised and assisted by the Finance and Services Committee and the five Domestic Committees, by the Board of Management, and by other Committees, Chairmen, individual Members and Officers of the House, according to the business under consideration. It draws upon outside advice when appropriate.
	The Secretary to the Commission is a Principal Clerk, who also serves as Clerk of the Finance and Services Committee and as a Clerk at the Table. On Commission business he is supported by one Grade 2 Secretary (this post is job shared) and one Grade 3 Secretary, who also help support the Finance and Services Committee and the Domestic Committees. All four staff are permanent members of the House of Commons Services; all were recruited by open competition. Three are female and one is male. Ethnic origin information is provided by staff in confidence; it is the House's practice not to disclose the ethnic mix of small groups of staff, in order to maintain that confidence.
	The Commission reports on its work in its Annual Report, which also includes sections on the Board of Management, and on the performance and plans of individual Departments. It now includes the Annual Report of the Audit Committee. The latest Report, for 2000–01 (HC 155 of Session 2001–02), is available from the Vote Office and on the internet. The Commission is seeking further to improve content and presentation in the Annual Report for 2001–02. In addition, it has approved intranet webpages covering the Audit Committee, the Board of Management and the Office of the Clerk, as well as the Commission itself. These will be available shortly.

Standards Commissioner

Peter Bottomley: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will establish an inquiry into reports of briefing against the Standards Commissioner.

Archy Kirkwood: pursuant to his reply, 17 December 2001, c. 2W
	The Parliamentary Commissioner has now replied to Mr. Speaker's letter of 6 December. Following discussion at the meeting of the Commission on 18 December Mr. Speaker has passed the Parliamentary Commissioner's letter to the Standards and Privileges Committee for consideration.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Human Rights Commission

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission will submit their second Annual Report as required by paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 7 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Des Browne: I have today laid before Parliament the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's second Annual Report.

New Deal (Young People)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by the Department under the new deal for young people; and at what cost to public funds.

John Reid: The NIO (and its agencies) currently employs one person under the new deal for young people. New dealers are recruited to the NIO on a subsidised basis and take up existing vacancies. Therefore extra costs are limited to the subsidy and any additional training and development which may be needed. The cost of the latter cannot be readily identified.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Ministerial Visits (North-East)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times since November 2000 Ministers from the Cabinet Office have visited (a) the Teesside area and (b) Middlesbrough South and Cleveland, East constituency to meet locally based businesses.

Christopher Leslie: There have been five visits to the Teesside area by Cabinet Office Ministers since November 2000, involving meetings with locally based businesses.

Cross-Government Communications

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if new electronic tools for cross-Government communication, presentation, policy analysis and development were delivered by April.

Christopher Leslie: Yes. The Government's programme of work to ensure that the UK is a world leader in the knowledge economy were published on 4 December 2001 in the Second UK Online Report. This includes details of the UK strategy for transforming Government, empowering people to make the best of new technology, and putting in place the infrastructure for e-Government (please see Chapter 5 of the report, available at: hhtp://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/progress/anrep2001/ default.htm).

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on progress since April 2000 in meeting the public service agreement target for promoting the needs of women in society;
	(2)  in pursuit of the PSA target on women's interests, by what means his Department has involved the Treasury in realising the potential of women in addressing the productivity gap.

Barbara Roche: There is no public service agreement target for promoting the needs of women in society nor is there a public service agreement on women's interests. However, the Government are committed to bringing about practical improvements to women's lives that benefit society as a whole. The Women and Equality Unit, a cross-cutting unit within the Cabinet Office, supports the Ministers for Women in delivering these changes.
	For example, next year I will be running a series of seminars to encourage more women to take up public appointments.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Barbara Roche: The Civil Service is committed to the active employment of older people. Figures for April 2000, for example, show that the Civil Service as a whole has more staff in the 55–75 age group (47,680) than it does in the 16–24 age group (31,770). In the light of the recommendations in the "Winning the Generation Game" report, Departments and agencies have been considering what further action they can take to improve their record by offering more options for employees over 50 to work in different ways and at different levels towards the end of their working lives.
	The Cabinet Office is in the process of collecting data from Departments on their current position in considering each of the recommendations of the "Winning the Generation Game" report in order to have a full picture in the new year.
	I will write to the hon. Member once all Departments have provided the information.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 2000–01, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn, for Vote XVII, Cabinet Office, subcategory 3 Cabinet Office: civil superannuation; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Full details of outturn against 2000–01 voted provision will be published in the appropriation accounts to be presented to the House of Commons by 31 January. The resource accounts on an accruals basis will also be presented to the House of Commons by 31 January.

DEFENCE

Drug Misuse

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he has taken on trends in the percentage of service personnel testing positive for controlled substances.

Adam Ingram: Since routine, random compulsory drug testing became regular practice across the three services in 1998, the percentage of armed forces personnel proving positive has only risen from 0.45 per cent. to 0.54 per cent. (in 2000) of the total number tested. The services reflect the society from which they are recruited and employ mainly young people who are at an age when they are most vulnerable to drug misuse. In addition to rigorous single service drug education programmes, the compulsory drug testing programme is a specific deterrent against the misuse of drugs by service personnel. Despite the comparatively low number of personnel who return positive results, the services continue to examine their drugs policies to remain vigilant against the problem.
	Recent improvements in drug testing methods have given the Ministry of Defence a more reliable detection capability for the Class A drug, Ecstasy. While this and an increase in the number of service personnel being tested generally, year on year, is reflected in the overall number of positive findings, our enhanced drug testing capability is viewed as a positive measure against members of the armed forces misusing drugs.

Drug Misuse

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many convictions there were for drug- related offences among armed forces personnel in each year since 1995;
	(2)  which units have been subjected to compulsory drug testing since January 2000; and how many personnel tested positive in each unit, broken down by substance.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Special Educational Needs

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of children of armed forces personnel have special educational needs.

Adam Ingram: There is no remit on service personnel to inform the Ministry of Defence when their children have special educational needs. Therefore, this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Submarines

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which submarines will receive the final stage of the Swiftsure and Trafalgar Update; and for what reasons the remaining fleet submarines are not receiving this upgrade.

Adam Ingram: The submarines which will receive the final stage of the update are HMS Torbay, HMS Trenchant, HMS Talent and HMS Triumph.
	The remaining Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class submarines have insufficient remaining planned service life for the procurement and fitting of the final phase of the update to be cost effective.

Sea Eagle Missile

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile will be withdrawn from service; and what anti-surface capability the aircraft carriers will have after the withdrawal of the Sea Eagle missile.

Adam Ingram: The decision to withdraw the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile from service in April 1999 was taken as a consequence of the Strategic Defence Review. The review concluded that since the end of the cold war the threat of open ocean warfare had reduced and that the requirement for air launched anti-surface ship capability had diminished. While our carriers no longer possess an organic anti-surface ship capability, they would normally operate as part of a Maritime Task Group whose component escorting vessels would typically be armed with a potent mixture of anti-surface weapons including the long range, ship launched Harpoon missile and the helicopter launched Sea Skua missile.

Leisure Time (Submarine Crews)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the set number of hours given over to downtime for sleep and rest in every 24 hours are for submarine naval officers; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Warfare officers in submarines operate in a six hours on, six hours off watch-keeping routine when at sea in a nuclear powered attack submarine. Their 12 hours off watch in each 24-hour period are used for sleep, meals, rest and recreation as well as dealing with routine administrative work.

Submarine Officers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training is expected to have been completed by submarine officers before being left as duty officers of a nuclear powered cruise missile-equipped submarine; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: All Royal Navy warfare officers undergo a lengthy period of training, progressing from general naval training to specific disciplines, such as navigation, to the level of detail necessary to conduct safely a warfare officer's first appointment. Beyond this, submariners sub-specialise and receive an appropriate level of training tailored to meet the particular demands of watch-keeping in submarines.

Submarine Officers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment is made of the competency and physical fitness of officers before they are placed in charge of a nuclear powered submarine; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Any officer appointed to a submarine is required to be assessed as medically fit for his duty. A comprehensive training and assessment regime is in place to ensure that such officers possess the professional ability and competence required by their duties. This includes a Basic Sea Qualification, which all officers must undertake in the submarine in which they are serving; this is a stringent test to ensure that they have knowledge of the systems onboard required to operate the boat effectively and safely.

HMS Triumph

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he intends to hold an inquiry into the events which led to the court martialling of Lieutenant Ashley Philpott and Lieutenant Ian Tabberer; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: A full board of inquiry was held into the circumstances surrounding the grounding of HMS Triumph immediately after the incident occurred in November 2000. It is not intended to hold another inquiry.

Spanish Airspace

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of UK military aircraft avoiding Spanish airspace over the last year.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	This information is not held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Gibraltar

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint military operations with (a) other EU partners and (b) non-EU states have taken place in Gibraltar in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	None.

HMS Gannet

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost is of the HMS Gannet site, including rates and utilities.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The total cost of the HMS Gannet site, including rents, rates, utilities and property management, is in the order of £1.736 million per year, inclusive of VAT.

HMS Gannet

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if serving personnel based at HMS Gannet are renting private accommodation to armed forces personnel based at HMS Gannet (a) as part of the Hambros scheme and (b) by other methods.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Three Naval personnel, currently serving at HMS Gannet, are renting accommodation which they own to other armed forces personnel also based at HMS Gannet. The property involved is rented by Hambros Countrywide Mobility Service, who are the agents for Substitute Single Service Accommodation on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
	We do not hold records on personnel based at HMS Gannet who are renting out private accommodation by means other than through the Hambros scheme, as that would be a private transaction.

HMS Gannet

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel who are in the Hambros scheme were previously accommodated at HMS Gannet.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	There are 78 Naval personnel and 21 RAF personnel currently living in Substitute Single Service Accommodation (the Hambros scheme), who were previously accommodated at HMS Gannet.

HMS Gannet

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the cost of the leases of HMS Gannet site are (a) detailed and (b) publicly available in the asset register of Defence Estates.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	HMS Gannet is occupied and held by Commander in Chief Fleet and therefore Defence Estates do not show the property in their annual accounts, but do show it within their property records, as per all other departmental properties.
	Because the property is held at market rent there is no value in the land to the Department, however the Ministry of Defence buildings on site are shown on page 298 of the National Asset Register holdings of Commander in Chief Fleet under the heading "Royal Naval Air Station Prestwick".
	While the actual cost of the leases of the property are detailed within departmental records, the precise details are commercial in confidence and I am therefore withholding details under exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Recruitment (Medical Rejections)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of applicants to the (a) Army, (b) RAF, (c) Royal Navy and (d) Royal Marines turned down on medical grounds in each quarter of the last seven years.

Adam Ingram: Information on the number of applicants rejected on medical grounds is not held centrally in the format or for the time period requested. Details which are available are as follows:
	
		Medical rejections
		
			 Service/financial year Officers Other ranks 
		
		
			 Royal Navy   
			 1996–97 32 544 
			 1997–98 16 764 
			 1998–99 32 813 
			 1999–2000 39 821 
			 2000–01 43 923 
			 2001–02(2) 35 626 
			
			 Royal Marines   
			 1996–97 3 52 
			 1997–98 1 93 
			 1998–99 3 103 
			 1999–2000 18 215 
			 2000–01 21 247 
			 2001–02(2) 7 187 
			
			 Army   
			 1995–96 30 (3)— 
			 1996–97 38 (3)— 
			 1997–98 41 1,880 
			 1998–99 42 2,304 
			 1999–2000 60 1,660 
			 2000–01 33 1,132 
			 2001–02(2) 43 (3)— 
			
			 Royal Air Force   
			 1996–97 (4)184 56 
			 1997–98 (4)183 88 
			 1998–99 (4)215 105 
			 1999–2000 (4)215 126 
			 2000–01 (4)255 193 
			 2001–02(2) (4)107 184 
		
	
	(2) The figures for 2001–02 are as at 7 December 2001
	(3) Army Other Rank figures unavailable for these years
	(4) These figures are for RAF Officers and Airmen Aircrew combined

Royal Scots Regiment

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the (a) establishment and (b) current strength of the Royal Scots regiment.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 2001, Official Report, columns 455–56W, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch).

Afghanistan

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of (a) the deployment of United Kingdom military personnel in the Afghan theatre of war and (b) the total value of ordnance dropped in the conflict;
	(2)  what the total number of United Kingdom military personnel serving in Afghanistan is; and under whose command they operate.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 December 2001
	There are approximately 3,800 involved in support of Operation Veritas, the UK element of Operating Enduring Freedom. This figure excludes the number of UK personnel operating within Afghanistan, and I am withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
	British troops operating in Afghanistan are under the overall command of the UK Chief of Joint Operations, and are available for specific tasks to the US Commander-in-Chief, Central Command.
	We have not estimated the value of ordnance dropped in the operation.

Army HQ

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the final cost was of moving the army's northern headquarters from York to Edinburgh; what estimates he has made of the economic consequences for York of this move; and what estimates he has made of the economic benefit to the area around Craigiehall.

Adam Ingram: A final assessment of the cost of moving the Army's northern headquarters from York to Edinburgh will be made shortly, now that the organisation is fully established in its new location. It is already clear, however, that the increase in the number of people working both at Craigiehall and in York continues to benefit both locations.

Military Training Grounds

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are being taken to ensure that Kenyan civilians are not killed, disabled and injured by unexploded munitions on military training grounds used by the British Army in the central part of Kenya.

Adam Ingram: The British Army takes every precaution to minimise danger to the Kenyan people and follows the same infantry training regulations in Kenya for live firing as it does in the UK. These are laid down in Infantry Training Volume 4, Pamphlet Number 21, and Artillery Training Volume 3, Pamphlet 19. Details of ammunition used are recorded and units are required to submit a certificate to state that the range has been cleared of ammunition fired during that exercise. In addition, we have a continuing programme of activity, which we carry out in conjunction with the Kenyan authorities. This includes the provision of training for Kenyan range staff; the construction of a range control centre; the employment and training of range wardens; and the erection of substantial warning signs on specific areas of the training area. Beyond that, we are also engaged in a continuing information campaign and provide assistance to the Kenyan authorities with range clearance. Our mutual aim is to ensure that the ranges are as safe as they can be.

Military Training Grounds

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what 
	(1)  the procedure is for clearing live ammunition from military training grounds in the UK;
	(2)  what regulations are in place to govern the clearance of live ammunition from military training grounds;
	(3)  what records the British Army keeps during training exercises with live ammunition, of the number of rounds of ammunition fired and the number of unexploded ammunition; and if these records are published.

Adam Ingram: The regulations and procedures for the clearance of live ammunition from military training grounds are laid down in Infantry Training Volume 4, Pamphlet Number 21, and Artillery Training Volume 3, Pamphlet 19. These regulations and procedures are adhered to wherever British forces are required to train with live ammunition, whether in the UK or overseas.
	Each unit training on a range or training area is required to clear military debris from the range after live firing or training with pyrotechnics, with details of the ammunition used recorded on a relevant form. In addition, units are required to submit a certificate to state that the range has been cleared.
	Any live ammunition that has not been used during training is returned to the ammunition store for use at another time. We aim to recover any ammunition not accounted for during the clearance operation at the end of the training. If there have been misfires—where a round does not fire correctly—or blinds—where a round is fired but does not explode correctly—a qualified individual would destroy the misfire or blind on site.
	Joint Service Publication 403—Defence Land Ranges Safety-Volume 1, Chapter 6 requires that records are kept of all live ammunition firing, the amount of live ammunition fired and the number of misfires or blinds. These records are not made public.

Territorial Army

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army have served with regular army forces overseas in each of the last five years; and in which countries.

Lewis Moonie: The numbers of Territorial Army personnel that have served with regular army forces overseas in each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 (5)2001 
		
		
			 Bosnia 640 609 489 129 210 
			 Kosovo 0 0 290 291 289 
			 Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0 51 
			 Macedonia 0 0 0 0 9 
			  
			 Total 640 609 779 420 559 
		
	
	(5) To date

Territorial Army

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions he has had, and with whom, concerning the location of the headquarters of the Territorial Army in Scotland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he has had discussions with (a) the Scottish Executive and (b) Scottish local authorities on the siting of TA Brigade headquarters in Scotland; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  which local authorities in Scotland have been consulted regarding the location of TA brigade headquarters in Scotland;
	(4)  what discussions he has had regarding the amalgamation of 51 and 52 Brigade of the Territorial Army in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The roles and responsibilities of the regional brigade structure in Scotland have been studied extensively by the Ministry of Defence as part of a wider examination of our force structure. This work has now concluded and I am pleased to announce that 52 (Lowland) Brigade will re-role to become a light infantry brigade, retaining command of the light role battalions in Redford Barracks and Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh and assuming command of those based at Preston and Chester. It will also retain responsibility for public duties. The Brigade will be known as 52 Infantry Brigade and the HQ will continue to be based at Edinburgh Castle. In parallel, 51 (Highland) Brigade will become the Scottish Regional Brigade assuming the infrastructure responsibilities of both 51 and 52 Brigades. The Brigade will be known as 51 (Scottish) Brigade and will be based at Forthside in Stirling.
	These changes support the Strategy for the Army, are wholly consistent with the conclusions of the Strategic Defence Review and will enhance our military capability.
	There have been no discussion about these plans outside my Department but I have written to the First Minister for the Scottish Parliament to advise him of these changes.

HMS Invincible

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Invincible's refit will be complete; and when HMS Invincible will be withdrawn from service.

Adam Ingram: HMS Invincible will complete her current refit and return to operational status in the summer of 2003. On current plans she will be withdrawn from service towards the end of this decade.

Sub-harpoon Anti-ship Missiles

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the sub-harpoon anti-ship missiles will be withdrawn from service; and what effect this will have on submarine capabilities.

Adam Ingram: On current plans the sub-harpoon anti-ship missiles will be withdrawn from service in 2008. Subsequent to this date it is assessed that the anti-surface ship capability required of the nuclear submarine flotilla will be delivered by the Spearfish heavyweight torpedo.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 2000–01, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn, for Vote VI, Defence, subcategory 2 Defence: Armed Forces retired pay, pensions etc; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Outturn was lower than estimated in financial year 2000–01 mainly because receipts from the Accruing Superannuation Liability Charge were slightly higher than anticipated, and because the overall increase in pensions was lower than forecast. For further information I refer the hon. Member to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme Resource Accounts for 2000–01, published on 21 November 2001. A copy is available in the Library of the House.

Army Pensions

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the pre-1973 army pensioners and army widows identified as entitled to tax free pensions under the pre-1973 attributable tax exercise of 1999 were entitled due to aggravated unfitness.

Lewis Moonie: The figures available to us on service pensions do not differentiate between those awarded for injuries or conditions that were attributable to, and those that were aggravated by, service. Figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Moved Bases

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list any major moves of (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Airforce bases since 1997.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Palestinian Authority

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with other European Governments regarding the provision of emergency aid for the Palestinian Authority.

Clare Short: Without peace, the prospects for economic growth and improved quality of life are negligible. But the potential for the region is considerable. Following the Oslo Accords in 1993, the area enjoyed a period of relative peace and economic growth. This benefited Palestinians and Israelis. Events took a downward turn in September 2000. Since then, there has been a continuing cycle of violence. Various attempts to re-engage the peace process have made little progress. Following the events of 11 September, there has been increased pressure from the international community for a resumption of productive dialogue, accompanied by renewed calls for the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
	This is the context for UK development assistance to Palestinians and Palestinian refugees. Our assistance is part of an international effort, with the international financial institutions, the US, and the European Community playing leading roles.
	We have provided over £43 million in development assistance and a further £61 million to UNRWA since the establishment of the PA in 1994. We also contribute substantially through our share of the EC and World bank spending. Between 1995 and 1999, the EC's MEDA programme provided euro 3.4 billion (about £2 billion), of which the UK share was 16 per cent. (about £320 million). The World bank has provided some $380 million to the West Bank and Gaza Strip; the UK share is about 5 per cent.
	In response to the current crisis, I have increased our contribution to UNRWA by a further £7 million, to a total of £25 million for calendar year 2001. I have also increased our support to the Palestinian Authority by £6 million, to a total of £14 million for 2001–02 financial year.

World Trade Round

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on how she intends to help developing countries to make gains from trade following the launch of a new trade round at the ministerial meeting in Doha.

Hilary Benn: Following the outcome of last month's meeting in Doha, the new trade round could potentially provide significant benefits for developing countries. The challenge now will be to deliver on that potential in the negotiations.
	As part of this process, we are continuing to support capacity building in developing countries. Last month, my right hon. Friend announced further help to strengthen involvement in trade policy making and negotiating, and assist countries seeking accession to the WTO.

Afghanistan

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department is providing to the people of Afghanistan to help them throughout the winter.

Clare Short: We have so far provided almost £40 million to United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement and NGOs, including support for provision and stockpiling of assistance for the winter. The UN is aiming to maximise delivery through both road and air routes and is prioritising deliveries to areas where access may become more difficult over the winter, including the central Highlands, the Panjshir valley and the north-east of the country.

Afghanistan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the amount of aid reaching the people of Afghanistan.

Clare Short: United Nations agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, the Red Cross movement and NGOs continue to make good progress in transporting essential relief supplies into Afghanistan. Over the past month, WFP has delivered over 68,000 tonnes of food, exceeding its monthly target. International staff of humanitarian agencies have now returned to some areas of the country and are working with national staff to reach those in need of assistance. However, progress is heavily dependent on improved security. Despite the best efforts of humanitarian agencies, some areas of Afghanistan are still proving difficult to access because of continuing insecurity.

Afghanistan

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the situation in the central highlands of Afghanistan with regard to the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Clare Short: United Nations agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, the Red Cross movement and NGOs continue to make good progress in transporting essential relief supplies into the central Highlands. UN international staff have now returned to the area.
	WFP has achieved its target delivery of 33,000 tonnes of food aid to the central Highlands; the food will be distributed by partner NGOs to support up to a million people over the winter.
	Other agencies, including UNICEF, the International Organisation for Migration and Oxfam, have continued to deliver health, shelter and education supplies.

Afghanistan

Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support recovery and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: I have just announced an additional £20 million to support the UN-led recovery effort. We are fully committed to supporting Ambassador Brahimi and the United Nations system in their central role to help the people of Afghanistan and their new Interim Authority to begin this huge task. A copy of our updated "Emergency Plan to Initiate Recovery" has been placed in the Library of the House.

Afghanistan

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to relieve the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the international aid situation in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Clare Short: The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains serious. The United Nations estimates at least 5 million people are in need of assistance, and over 1 million have been displaced from their homes.
	UN agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the Red Cross movement continue to make good progress in transporting essential relief supplies into Afghanistan. Over the past month, WFP has delivered over 68,000 tonnes of food, exceeding its monthly target. International staff of humanitarian agencies have now returned to some areas of the country and are working with national staff to reach those in need of assistance. However, progress is heavily dependent on improved security. Despite the best efforts of humanitarian agencies, some areas of Afghanistan are still proving difficult to access because of continuing insecurity.
	My Department has so far allocated £60 million to United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement and NGOs for their response to the Afghan crisis.

EU Aid

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the distribution of the EU aid package to overseas countries.

Clare Short: European Community aid is distributed on a regional basis to all developing countries and countries in transition. Provisional figures for 2000 show that the percentage of EC development assistance spent in low-income countries continues to fall and is now below 50 per cent. This is unsatisfactory but difficult to change because many members states and large parts of the Commission support the distribution of aid for political rather than developmental purposes.
	In November 2000, the Council and Commission adopted a new development policy which makes poverty reduction the central objective for all EC programmes in developing countries. In line with our published strategy on working with the European Community we continue to work to improve the impact of EC aid on the Millennium Development Goals including through the allocation of a much higher percentage of EC aid to poor countries.

Sierra Leone

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance she is giving to the amputee victims of terrorism in Sierra Leone.

Clare Short: There are around 1,000 amputee victims of the conflict in Sierra Leone. DFID has provided £110,000 to the Mercy Ships project, which helps both conflict amputees and polio victims—the latter greatly exceed the former. Through our contributions to the EC's humanitarian programme we also support the work of Handicap International, the main provider of prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation support at the amputee centre in Murray Town, Freetown.

Sierra Leone

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the work of her Department in Sierra Leone.

Clare Short: In Sierra Leone, we are engaged primarily in promoting security and good governance. We are providing £30 million per annum to provide long-term support to the police, strengthening the Ministry of Defence to ensure the armed forces are more democratically accountable, and helping reintegrate ex-combatants wishing to return to civilian life. We are supporting the Anti-Corruption Commission, helping to reform the judiciary, training the media, assisting the Government to prepare for elections next year, and providing budgetary support to help meet the running costs of government. We also provide substantial support to meet the ongoing humanitarian needs of those displaced by the conflict.

Somalia

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department has given to Somalia in the last 12 months.

Clare Short: This calendar year we have pledged almost £3 million to Somalia, mainly directed towards emergency and humanitarian activities:
	International Committee of the Red Cross
	2001 Appeal for Somalia—£1,000,000
	United Nations
	2001 Consolidated appeal for Somalia—£410,850
	World Vision
	Primary health care in Middle Juba—£328,785
	Primary health care in Bay Region—£266,163
	International Organisation for Migration
	Workshop to encourage Somali women's participation in the peace process—£88,969
	Norwegian People's Aid
	Water rehabilitation, Sool region—£200,173
	Medecins sans Frontieres
	Health assistance, Bakool Region—£207,000
	Health assistance, Middle Shabelle—£377,689
	Africa Educational Trust
	Developing community school partnerships in Somaliland—£123,863.
	The pursuit of a lasting peace agreement in Somalia remains the highest priority. To this end we, with the international community, continue to support the efforts of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Palestinian Territories

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the work of her Department in the Palestinian territories.

Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 December 2001, Official Report, columns 915–16W.

Latin America

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has for further work in Latin America following the economic crisis in Argentina.

Clare Short: We are working to implement our existing strategy for Latin America, which is focused on reducing poverty in the region through the promotion of pro-poor growth, reducing inequality and improving governance. In addition to our programmes in Guatemala and El Salvador we provide support to improve the effectiveness of national development programmes in middle-income countries with major inequality and poverty problems such as Brazil and Peru. In Nicaragua, Honduras and Bolivia, which are highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) we are working with the Government, civil society and other donors to help with the implementation of their poverty reduction strategies.
	Details of our strategy for Latin America will be published in various country strategy papers in the new year.

UNICEF

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she next plans to meet the Executive Director of UNICEF to discuss its work.

Clare Short: I met the Executive Director of UNICEF in February in New York and briefly in Paris in October in the margins of a Unesco conference. I have no plans to meet her in the near future but I would hope to see her next time I am in New York, she is in London or we are both attending the same international conference.

HIV/AIDS

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's work on HIV/AIDS.

Clare Short: HIV/AIDS is the single most important development challenge in Africa. We know what needs to be done to tackle the disease, and countries such as Uganda, Thailand and Cambodia have shown that political commitment and leadership can help to contain the spread of the disease. My Department supports comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, control and mitigation programmes. We continue to give greatest priority to prevention, but we also place emphasis on reducing the personal, social and economic impact of illness and death caused by the disease.
	We seek to support the development, strengthening and implementation of national strategies to combat HIV/AIDS and to provide assistance in the framework of such strategies. We have recently approved several new major programmes to support national HIV/AIDs responses in, for example, Russia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, China and India totalling around £300 million, and a £20 million programme is being designed to support Mozambique. A major new multi-sectoral HIV programme for South Africa is also planned for this year.
	My Department is supporting the development of HIV/AIDS vaccines through the support of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Work is under way to support the development of microbicides to prevent HIV. We are also working on a range of initiatives which aim to increase the long-term affordability and availability of treatment for HIV/AIDS and related infections.
	Our strategy for our HIV/AIDS works is outlined in our HIV/AIDS strategy paper published in summer 2001 and available in the Library of the House.

HIV/AIDS

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to help poor countries which have been hard hit by HIV and AIDS.

Clare Short: HIV/AIDS is the single most important development challenge in Africa. The epidemic is undermining economic growth and fundamentally threatens social and economic development in many countries. It also poses a threat to health in many other countries around the world. My Department supports comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, control and mitigation programmes. We continue to give greatest priority to prevention, but we also place emphasis on reducing the personal, social and economic impact of illness and death caused by the disease.
	We seek to support the development, strengthening and implementation of national strategies to combat HIV/AIDS and to provide assistance in the framework of such strategies. We have recently approved several new major programmes to support national HIV/AIDS responses in, for example, Russia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, China and India totalling around £300 million, and a £20 million programme is being designed to support Mozambique. A major new multi-sectoral HIV programme for South Africa is also planned for this year. We have committed £25 million to support the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa.
	In addition, the Government are exploring the potential of a number of options for increasing the long-term affordability and availability of treatment for HIV/AIDS and related infections, while maintaining a focus on the development of sustainable health systems which is needed to deliver them.
	Our strategy for our HIV/AIDS work is outlined in our HIV/AIDS strategy paper published in summer 2001 and available in the Library of the House.

Development Targets

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the World bank about progress towards the 2015 development targets.

Clare Short: I have regular discussions with the World bank about this issue. The most recent occasion was at the meeting of the World bank/International Monetary Fund Development Committee in Ottawa, 17–18 November. I am pleased to report that there is an increasingly strong commitment within the World bank and its member countries for concerted action to meet the 2015 targets. This includes growing recognition of the need to increase the volume of resources made available to poor countries committed to the policy and institutional changes needed to reduce poverty and achieve the other targets; and to enhance the effectiveness of this aid, including by untying it. The UK has already untied its aid, and pledged to increase the oda/GNI ration from 0.32 per cent. in 2000 to 0.33 per cent. by 2003–04. Substantial progress is being made towards the key 2015 target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. While regional progress varies, the best available evidence suggests that on present trends the global target will be met but some of the targets, particularly the reduction of maternal mortality, will not be met. Progress varies between regions and countries. Very few African countries are on track to meet the targets.

Bangladesh

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the programme to develop the technical competence of engineers in Bangladesh.

Clare Short: My Department has just completed a successful five-year project to strengthen the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh and to establish an Engineers Registration Board to enable Bangladeshi engineers to be internationally recognised within the various branches of the engineering profession.
	We have recently commenced a new project to strengthen the professional engineering associated in eight developing countries (including Bangladesh) following on from the success achieved to date under the previous project.

Corruption

David Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her Department's priorities are for tackling corruption.

Clare Short: The priorities of our bilateral programmes are to support national strategies which address both enforcement action against corruption, such as strong and effective anti-corruption agencies, and preventive measures, such as strengthening capacity for public sector budgetary and financial management, procurement, accounting and audit; reforming civil service management, enhancing public oversight through strengthened parliamentary committees, developing measures to reduce judicial corruption and supporting civil society to promote transparency and accountability in public life.
	At the multilateral level, negotiations for a United Nations Convention Against Corruption commence in January. This is a major opportunity to develop global standards for tackling corruption and improving international co-operation. We will be playing an active role in these discussions.
	We attach importance also to strengthening collaboration with other bilateral development agencies and multilateral partners, in particular through supporting the implementation conventions against bribery in international trade and strengthening regional anti-money- laundering mechanisms.

Pakistan

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her Department's assistance to Pakistan.

Clare Short: We are committed to supporting Pakistan's economic and social development for the long haul. This includes support for the Road Map to Democracy announced by President Musharraf in August 2001, which envisages national elections by October 2002. We are working closely with the international financial institutions and other multilateral organisations to ensure sustainable improvements in the lives of poor people in Pakistan. Our bilateral assistance is designed as a contribution to this wider international effort; and my Department meets the UK share of expenditure by the World bank, Asian Development bank, European Commission and UN agencies.
	Our bilateral programme is focused on three objectives: creating the economic conditions for poverty reduction; strengthening health systems and improving quality and management in education. These are pursued through support to the process of devolution; support to rural livelihoods; and support to the development of the poverty reduction strategy paper.
	In health, we are working to improve access to—and quality of—public health services, especially for the poorest. For example, we are helping to improve reproductive health through support for social marketing of condoms through Population Services International. We are also working up an HIV/AIDS drug harm prevention project. On education, we are supporting the implementation of the devolution of education management to provincial and district levels in North West Frontier Province and Northern Areas. We are also helping to raise quality standards by collaborating on reform of the National Education Assessment System.
	In terms of support for the political reform effort, examples of these are the assistance my Department is providing to improve the quality of governance by supporting the Elections Commission in the run up to next year's provincial and national elections, and the National Reconstruction Bureau in its deliberations on constitutional reform. We are also focused on working with the appropriate Government Departments and civil society groups to address gender discrimination and violence against women.
	In recognition of Pakistan's reform progress to date, and to support the new three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility agreed with the IMF earlier this month, I have allocated a further £15 million for budgetary aid this financial year, and £45 million for each of the subsequent two years. This is in addition to the on-going technical assistance programme, and represents a major increase in our engagement with Pakistan's medium-term reform programme.
	As announced in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 802W, I have also allocated £11 million of short-term assistance to help host communities affected by the refugee influx.

Pakistan

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the projects which she is funding in (a) part and (b) whole in Pakistan; and what is the cost involved in each case.

Clare Short: The following projects are being, or have been, funded by my Department in the current financial year 2001–02. Implementation periods can range between a few weeks to several years.
	
		Pakistan bilateral aid programme
		
			 Projects Project budget (£000) 
		
		
			 Education  
			 Punjab Middle School Project 4,900 
			 NWFP Primary Education (including contribution to PEPCO) 6,500 
			 Northern Areas Education 3,900 
			 Sindh Education Foundation 150 
			 Support for National Education Foundation 167 
			 Support to IED, Aga Khan Uni—Policy Research and Decision Making Education 80 
			 National Education Assessment System and MSU Workshops 140 
			 WB and BC Courses on Education Reform 91 
			 Review Present Status of EMIS and Edu GIS in Pakistan 33 
			 Sub total 15,961 
			   
			 Health  
			 Private Sector Population KSM/FG 9,886 
			 Chitral Primary Health Care III 3,380 
			 PAVHNA: Phases I and II 4,382 
			 Surveys of Sexually Transmitted Diseases 700 
			 Evaluation of Lady Health Workers Programme 1,207 
			 Lady Health Worker Programme 5,200 
			 FPAP Doorsteps Project 517 
			 Social Marketing of Condoms (PSI/SMP) 4,073 
			 The Network 1,808 
			 Marie Stopes International—Khaipur 1,828 
			 HIV-Aids Drug Harm Reduction—Main Project 600 
			 Neelum Valley AJK 1,186 
			 Health and Population Section (including Hon. and P Adviser) 1,327 
			 TB Scoping Mission (PPP) and Follow-up 75 
			 NWFP Devolution/Reform Support—Prep 50 
			 HIV Aids Mainstreaming 20 
			 NWFP Drugs 1,000 
			 Balochistan Drugs 1,000 
			 Sub total 38,239 
			   
			 Water/Sanitation  
			 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation NWFP 6,500 
			 Sub total 6,500 
			 Human Rights (including Gender Equality)  
			 Protect Rights and Livelihoods of Working Children 1,225 
			 JPO for UNICEF (Shiona Hood) + Extension 232 
			 Gender Equality Project 2,800 
			 Violent Crimes Against Women (VCAW) 700 
			 Safety, Security and Access to Justice 90 
			 Sub total 5,047 
			   
			 Economic Management/Public Sector Reforms  
			 Pakistan WTO Trade Policy Project 1,081 
			 General Sales Tax Reforms Phases 1-III 2,378 
			 Governance and World bank (includes NAB, NRB and Civil Service Reform (TR)) 170 
			 Social Sector Public Expenditure Analysis 40 
			 PRGF Budget Support 15,000 
			 Sub total 18,669 
			   
			 Electoral Systems Transition to Democracy  
			 UNDP Support for Elections 1,200 
			 Analysis of Local Elections (PATTAN) 50 
			 Democracy Study 100 
			 Support for Democratic Elections 63 
			 Sub total 1,413 
			   
			 Corruption  
			 National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 81 
			 Anti-Corruption Strategy 350 
			 Sub total 431 
			   
			 Sustainable Livelihoods  
			 AKRSP Chitral Phase III 8,120 
			 AKRSP Gilgit 1997–2001 8,000 
			 Lachi Poverty Reduction Project 2,900 
			 NWFP SRSP Capacity Building 1,830 
			 Alternative Patterns of Land Tenure (Haris Gazdar Study) 52 
			 RSP Network Project 1,032 
			 Faisalabad Area Upgrading I-G.cd 018–001 12,520 
			 Traidcraft 'PRIDE' Feasibility Study 90 
			 Micro Finance for Women—KASHF 3,200 
			 Micro Finance Group 300 
			 SRSP Community Infrastructure 1,120 
			 Sub total 39,164 
			   
			 Poverty Policy  
			 Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) 2,562 
			 Assistance to PIHS Phase II + Extension 1,498 
			 Building Capacity for Poverty Analysis—Main Project 300 
			 Sub total 4,360 
			   
			 Environment  
			 Clean Fuels Study 165 
			 Sub total 165 
			   
			 Other  
			 Small Grants Scheme (SGS) 176 
			 BHC Development Section Project (BHCDSP) 2,920 
			 Sub total 3,096 
			   
			 Projects funded by Civil Society Department  
			 Civil Society Challenge  
			 Population Concern—Integrated Rural Reproductive Health Project (Lahore) 210 
			 Joint Funding Scheme  
			 Learning for Life—Community Education Programme 237 
			 Population Concern—Kohat Family Planning and Mother and Child Health 278 
			 Sub total 725 
			   
			 Total 133,770

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, "Winning the Generation Game", (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Clare Short: The information is as follows:
	Conclusion 6:
	My Department will within the next few weeks publish a booklet for staff on alternative working patterns. The booklet, which has been approved following discussion by a staff Consultative Group on Diversity, will explain the options available for adjusting working patterns in a way which will permit part-time working or downshifting.
	Conclusion 7:
	My Department already makes extensive use of retired staff for suitable short-term assignments.
	Conclusion 8:
	A review of the implications of allowing staff to serve to age 65 is in hand and will be completed by 31 March 2002.
	Conclusion 9:
	My Department has decided not to introduce a short service concession on the grounds that a considerably smaller proportion of men rather than women would be able to comply with the criterion of having less than 20 years service and that the adoption of such a condition would therefore be potentially indirectly discriminatory under s.1 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 as amended. There are also potential difficulties associated with the concept of the "normal age of retirement" which defines the upper age limit applicable to complaints of unfair dismissal in terms of s.109 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
	Conclusion 10:
	Discrimination on grounds of age is already forbidden by my Department's Equal Opportunities policy as published in our Staff Handbook (and has been for some years).
	Conclusion 11:
	Is for action by the Cabinet Office rather than Departments.
	Conclusion 12:
	My Department already recruits a considerable number of staff (particularly in professional and specialist grades) in mid to late career and age does not figure in our recruitment advertising or in our selection processes.

Refugees (Former Yugoslavia)

Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to support internally displaced people and refugees within the former Yugoslavia during the winter months.

Clare Short: Humanitarian assistance from the international community, including assistance for internally displaced persons and refugees, is co-ordinated by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the European Commission Humanitarian Affairs Office (ECHO). The UK provides funds for these agencies, including 19.7 per cent. of the ECHO budget.
	We are not planning to provide bilateral assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons this winter. By agreement with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, our bilateral programme focuses on providing technical assistance for institution and capacity building, and for economic and social reform. We aim to address the longer-term needs of poor people in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by helping to restructure the economy, strengthen public administration and improve the delivery of social and health care services. This strategy is described in the DFID country strategy paper for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Nigeria

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what actions her Department has taken to further good governance in the oil producing states of Nigeria.

Clare Short: My Department is focusing on three key areas of assistance in Nigeria: a governance and economic reform programme at federal level, with particular emphasis on strengthening the justice sector (including the police), implementing key economic reforms and promotion of an effective poverty reduction strategy; support in the continuing fight against HIV/AIDS; and working closely with four identified reforming states of the 36 states of Nigeria to demonstrate that reform can deliver practical benefits for the poor. None of our four focal states, Benue, Jigawa, Ekiti and Enugu, is oil producing. However, DFID supports good governance in oil producing states through the European Commission, which is implementing a large programme of small-scale community driven projects. These projects implement progressive and participatory community development, with the aim of enhancing the voice of the communities to articulate effective demand on services from state and local government. The programme is operational in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states and will expand to a further three states. A DFID-seconded official has assisted the Delegation of the Commission in the development and implementation of this programme.

Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the OECD convention on bribery and the impact it will have on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill.

Keith Bradley: I have been asked to reply.
	Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is intended to meet two recommendations made by the Organisation for Economic, Co-operation and Development (OECD) Bribery Working Group. The provisions provided for two changes in the law to ensure that: it covers the bribery of foreign public officials, ministers, Members of Parliament and judges; and the United Kingdom has jurisdiction over acts committed by our nationals and companies abroad.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Lone Parents

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents who have participated in the new deal for lone parents have later returned to income support, broken down into (a) those who originally left the NDLP because they found work, (b) those who left the NDLP to return immediately to income support and (c) those who left the NDLP for other reasons.

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish an evaluation of the proportion of lone parents who return to income support within (a) one month, (b) six months and (c) one year of finding work under the new deal.

Nick Brown: Information on the number of lone parents returning to income support will be included in the evaluation of the new deal for lone parents national programme, which is expected to be published in spring 2003.

Lone Parents

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 9 July 2001, Official Report, column 371W, for what reason the publication of the evaluation of the new deal for lone parents has been put back to 2003.

Nick Brown: The publication of the evaluation of the new deal for lone parents (NDLP) national programme has been delayed until spring 2003 to extend the data collection period thereby increasing the quantity of available data on NDLP participants and non-NDLP participants. This will allow the evaluation team to present a more informed and accurate evaluation.

Young People

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of persons leaving (a) the gateway period and (b) each of the four options in the new deal for young people entered (i) unsubsidised jobs and (ii) sustained jobs in each year since the inception of the new deal for young people.

Nick Brown: The table shows the proportion of all new deal for young people leavers who move into sustained, unsubsidised jobs from the gateway stage of the programme and from each of the options. In addition to these job outcomes we know from survey findings that around two-thirds of young people who leave options for unknown destinations do in fact find work.
	There is an on-going programme of database development to capture outcomes. For the subsidised employment option in particular, the figures prior to 2001 reflect follow-up work with employers to capture lost performance. This exercise will be repeated for 2001 leavers and we expect the figure of 37 per cent. to be revised in line with previous years' figures.
	
		Proportion of new deal leavers moving into jobs by year -- Percentage
		
			 Stage of leaving new deal 1998 1999 2000 2001(6) 
		
		
			 Gateway 49 45 44 42 
			 Subsidised employment 56 51 51 (7)37 
			 Full-time education and training 38 32 31 30 
			 Voluntary sector 37 33 33 31 
			 Environmental task force 33 30 31 30 
		
	
	(6) To end of July
	(7) Initial figure
	Note:
	By definition, all jobs gained by new deal leavers are sustained, unsubsidised jobs (ie to have left the programme, they must not re-claim jobseeker's allowance within 13 weeks).
	All figures are immediate destinations on leaving new deal
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

Young People

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of persons on each of the four options in the new deal for young people have left the option and returned to benefits in each year since the inception of the new deal.

Nick Brown: The information is in the table. Around one-third of young people starting the new deal go onto one of the options. The figures in the table therefore relate only to this group of new dealers. The design of the new deal includes a period of follow-through during which people return to JSA if they don't move into work immediately at the end of an option. The follow-through provides each individual with help to make the most of the skills they have gained on their option so that they can find work as soon as possible.
	
		Proportion of people who left direct from the option and returned to claim jobseeker's allowance -- Percentage
		
			 New deal option 1998 1999 2000 2001(8) 
		
		
			 Subsidised employment 50 39 37 39 
			 Full-time education and training 67 69 63 65 
			 Voluntary sector 63 67 62 65 
			 Environmental task force 69 67 64 64 
		
	
	(8) To end of July
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

Third-age Apprenticeships (Wirral)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to develop third age apprenticeships in the Wirral.

Ian McCartney: Third age apprenticeships are still in the early stages of development. Their purpose is to increase the take up of training within the new deal 50-plus programme, and to engage more directly with employers in particular sectors of the market rather than in particular locations.
	The new deal 50-plus is already operational in the Wirral, helping with the recruitment and training of older people. In the first 18 months of national operation the new deal 50-plus has helped over 51,000 people back into work. Up to the end of September 2001, 382 people in the Wirral unit of delivery area had returned to work with the help of the Employment Credit 1 .
	1 Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database

Departmental Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expenditure in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative (a) in the UK and (b) in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative.

Nick Brown: holding answer 20 November 2001
	Action Teams for Jobs are the Department's main Area-Based Initiative. They are based in some of the most employment-deprived areas of Great Britain and work closely with local regeneration-related initiatives.
	Action teams were announced as a one-year initiative in the March 2000 Budget. Three pathfinder Teams started in June 2000, 37 others followed in mid-October 2000, all completed their first year on 12 October 2001. Although final figures are not yet available, initial results indicate that the Teams have engaged over 38,000 clients and helped 41 per cent. (over 15,500) of them into work.
	My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget that the initiative would be extended to March 2004 and expanded to include seven new areas, while a number of existing areas would be divided to sharpen their focus on the most disadvantaged areas. By 2002 there will 63 action teams across GB.
	Information on action team budgets and expenditure is not available in the form requested. £45.5 million was available for the original 40 teams for their initial one-year life-span. £133 million in total has been allocated to the initiative for the period October 2001 to March 2004.
	An action team has been operating in the area covered by the Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Employment Zone since October 2000. It did not originally include any part of the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency. However, in March 2001 the Team's remit was extended to cover certain disadvantaged groups across the whole of Redcar and Cleveland.
	From January 2002 there will be two separate action teams in the Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland area. One in Middlesbrough, covering 13 wards with high levels of worklessness (Ayresome; Beckfield; Beechwood; Berwich; Easterside; Grove Hill; Hemlington; North Ormsby; Pallister; Park End; St. Hilda's; Stainton and Thornton and Thorntree) and another in Redcar and Cleveland covering six wards (Coatham; Newcomen; Grangetown; South Bank; Kirkleatham and Easton). The Middlesbrough Action Team will include two wards in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency, Hemlington and Park End.
	The current Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Action Team has been allocated £625,000 for the period October 2000 to December 2001. The new Middlesbrough Action Team has been allocated £760,000 a year from January 2002 and the new Redcar and Cleveland Action Team has been allocated £500,000 a year.
	Another Area-Based Initiative is the Employment Zone initiative which was introduced in April 2000 to test out an alternative approach to delivering help to long-term unemployed people find work. They are located in 15 areas of the country where there are high concentrations of long-term unemployment.
	Originally intended to run for two years until March 2002, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment announced in February 2001 that the Zones would be extended for one year until March 2003.
	The amount budgeted and the total expenditure to date is as follows:
	
		£ million 
		
			 Year Budget Spend 
		
		
			 2000–01 52.945 68.273 
			 2001–02 83.374 — 
			 2002–03 53.574 — 
		
	
	The Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Employment Zone covers the following wards in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency: Hutton, Guisborough, Saltburn, Skelton, Belmont, Brotton, Lockwood, Loftus, Hemlington and Park End. The Zone's total expenditure for the financial year 2000–01 was nearly £3.2 million.
	It is not possible to identify other specific regeneration- related expenditure in any meaningful way. All the programmes run by the Department for Work and Pensions aim to support the Government's overarching commitment to tackling social exclusion and poverty and improving economic growth. We are doing this in particular by providing a joined-up approach to employment and benefit policies for people of working age, with a single modern, nationwide point of delivery for advice and support on jobs and benefits through Jobcentre Plus; and by introducing a new Pension Service to provide advice and support to today's and tomorrow's pensioners, including the introduction of the pension credit.

New Deal

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Glasgow (a) are unemployed and (b) have found work from the new deal.

Nick Brown: The information is as follows:
	(a) There are currently 17,992 unemployed claimants in Glasgow, a fall of one-third since 1997.
	(b) The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Programme Number of people helped into work in the Glasgow Unit of Delivery area(9) 
		
		
			 New deal for young people 6,369 
			 New deal 25 plus 1,071 
			 New deal for lone parents 2,073 
			 New deal 50 plus(10) (11)907 
			 New deal for partners (12)32 
			  
			 Total 10,452 
		
	
	(9) Up to the end of September 2001
	(10) Employment credit claims
	(11) At end of October 2001
	(12) At 26 October 2001—Source: Employment Service Labour Market System
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database
	The information is not available for the new deal for disabled people.

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) record is kept and (b) assessment is made of the destinations of people who leave the new deal for 50-plus for employment.

Nick Brown: Records are kept of participants in new deal 50-plus who have entered work with the support of the new deal 50-plus employment credit, broken down by gender, ethnicity, disability and type of employment (full-time, part-time or self-employed). An assessment of the destinations will be covered by the evaluation of the programme.

New Deal

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much public money has been given to each private company in Leicester operating a new deal initiative;
	(2)  how much public money has been spent on the new deal in the city of Leicester.

Nick Brown: The total expenditure on new deal programmes in the Leicestershire unit of delivery since the introduction of new deal in April 1998 until the end of October 2001 is £22,283,937. This includes staffing costs for the Employment Service, programme expenditure and other associated costs.
	It is not possible to give details of how much public money is given to individual private companies involved in the programmes, as this would be a breach of commercial confidentiality.

New Deal

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to prevent (a) local authorities and (b) monopoly training agencies diverting new deal training budgets from training provision to administrative budgets;
	(2)  what action he will take to ensure that the organisations that provide training for new deal trainees receive the bulk of money allocated for the purpose;
	(3)  if he will take action to prevent (a) local authorities and (b) other training agencies from top-slicing the individual cash allocation for training each new deal trainee in such a way that the bulk of the budget goes for administration rather than training.

Nick Brown: Costs associated with training provision are reflected in the contract price. Payment is made to contractors in line with actual performance in delivering training to agreed standards.

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 160W, what proportion of the number of people leaving for (a) employment and (b) sustained employment in Government Departments represents of the (i) total number of people leaving the new deal for the long-term unemployed and (ii) the number of people leaving the new deal for the long-term unemployed for employment.

Nick Brown: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Soft Skills

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the soft skills promoted by his Department; and if he will make a statement on how they relate to hard skills.

Nick Brown: There is no formal list of soft skills provided through the Department's employment and training programmes. Soft skills relate to good work discipline, attitude and behaviour, which are necessary skills for everyone entering or wanting to re-enter employment. Our programmes include help with motivation, attitude problems, interpersonal skills and customer care skills. These skills relate to hard skills in that both are necessary to find and retain work.

Benefit Fraud (Publicity Campaign)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the breakdown of the costs of the publicity campaign to tackle benefit fraud.

Nick Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 26 October 2001, Official Report, column 438W.

Independent Living Fund

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department will publish the results of the quinquennial review into the Independent Living Fund; and what plans he has to abandon its means test.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for the City of York (Mr. Bayley) today.

Attendance Allowance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if adjudicating officers deciding on the eligibility for attendance allowance are advised to consider virtual inability to walk as defined by Cassinelli v. Secretary of State for Social Services TLR 6/12/91 as evidence that constant daytime supervision is required.

Maria Eagle: When assessing whether someone satisfies the qualifying conditions for attendance allowance, decision makers (known as adjudication officers until 1999) are advised to take into account, among other things, whether that person needs supervision from another to avoid danger. It is the Department's view that the Court of Appeal in Cassinelli v. Secretary of State for Social Services is not relevant here as it did not address the question of supervision and only considered the meaning of "severe discomfort" as it related to mobility allowance, a benefit replaced in 1992 by disability living allowance.

Industrial Injuries

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when Pat Sutton, a constituent, will receive an answer from the Department's Medical Services about her industrial injuries benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: holding answer 4 December 2001
	I have written to my hon. Friend.

Unemployment (Disabled People)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the performance of Disability Employment Service instigated courses in finding work for unemployed disabled people.

Nick Brown: The majority of unemployed disabled people find work through mainstream Jobcentre services and programmes which include vacancy displays, the various New Deals, Work Based Learning for Adults, Programme Centres and Work Trials.
	The number of disabled people who entered work using these services last year (to March 2001) totalled 83,523. The number who have entered work this year up to the end of September totals 48,081.
	In addition to these services there is a range of specialised support available from the Employment Service Disability Service Teams accessed through Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who are based in Jobcentres. DEAs support clients who are more significantly disadvantaged in their search for work as the result of a disability and offer a range of additional programmes and services to their clients. These include the Access to Work programme, the Work Preparation programme, Workstep, Residential Work Based Learning for Adults and the Job Introduction scheme.
	The number of people helped into work by DEAs last year (to March 2001) totalled 18,754. The number helped into work by DEA's this year, up to the end of September, totals 8,314.

Parliamentary Questions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 15 October, ref. 8410 and 8 October, ref. 7989.

Ian McCartney: Question 8410 was answered on 30 November and question 7989 was answered on 29 November.

Winter Fuel Payment (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) women aged over 60, (b) men aged over 65 and (c) men aged 60 to 65 receive the winter fuel payment in the Buckingham constituency.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. However, for winter 2000–01, around 5,800 men aged 60 and over and around 8,800 women aged 60 and over in the Buckingham constituency received a winter fuel payment. The figure for this year will be similar.

Minimum Income Guarantee (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received the minimum income guarantee in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1998.

Ian McCartney: The latest figures as at August 1998, 1999 and 2000 show that there were 1,400 pensioners in the Buckingham constituency receiving the minimum income guarantee. By August 2001 this figure had risen to 1,500 pensioners.

Private Pension Provision

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department plans to encourage private pension provisions.

Ian McCartney: This Government are committed to encourage private pension provision—through pension education, making saving pay, providing appropriate savings vehicles and better regulation. This strategy goes hand-in-hand with our broader reform of the pensions landscape with introduction of the state second pension and the launch of the pension service.
	Our pension education campaign has been driving home the message that those who can afford to save have an obligation to do so. As part of this, combined pension forecasts will ensure that people have the right information to make well-informed decisions on their retirement income.
	The introduction of stakeholder pensions has a significant impact the pensions landscape. Stakeholders are safe, flexible and value for money. For the first time, we have also opened up private pensions to non-earners—giving carers and the disabled a chance to build up a private pension. Since October, all employers with five or more employees must offer access to a stakeholder pension, unless they already offer an appropriate alternative, greatly increasing the coverage of private pension saving.
	The Association of British Insurers has calculated that by the end of October nearly 300,000 employers had designated a scheme. The figures also show that some 492,000 policies have been sold in the first seven months since the introduction of stakeholder pensions in April.
	We are committed to reforming the regulation of private pension provision. That is why we have commissioned Alan Pickering to lead a review of the regulatory regime, and to report in July with a package of measures for simplification. We have already accepted the recommendations of the Myners Review of institutional investment, are developing proposals to replace the minimum funding requirement with a long-term scheme-specific standard, and have consulted on a package of measures to speed up the winding-up of occupational pension schemes. Better regulation will be better for the individuals—by maintaining their security while removing unnecessary barriers to providing pensions.
	From 2003, around half of all pensioners will stand to gain from the new pension credit. For the first time, saving will be rewarded rather than penalised. All single pensioners with weekly incomes of up to £135, and couples with weekly incomes up to £200, will receive a cash top-up. This reward will also be good news for women—around two in three recipients of the credit will be women, as women tend to have smaller pensions than men.
	We believe that those who can afford to save for their retirement have an obligation to do so. Our policies will encourage and facilitate that saving, and allow every individual to make informed choices to safeguard their future.

Housing Benefit

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what records his Department keeps of the number of notified changes to housing benefit claims each year in each local authority; and whether such information is published.

Malcolm Wicks: Data are collected quarterly, through the Housing Benefit Management Information System, on specified changes of circumstances notified to local authorities by people claiming Housing Benefit. This information is not routinely published.

Housing Benefit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with local authorities regarding the introduction of an integrated claim form for housing benefit, council tax benefit and other benefits.

Malcolm Wicks: We expect Jobcentre Plus and local authorities to work closely together to provide a coherent service for customers. From next October, Jobcentre Plus offices plan to introduce an electronic process which allows us to collect information on a range of benefits only once and pass relevant housing benefit and council tax benefit claim details to local authorities. We are discussing these plans with the local authority associations on an on-going basis to ensure local authorities play a full role in the new processes we are developing.

Housing Benefit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason it is not possible for housing benefit administrators to share data with his Department on benefits other than income support and jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: All local authorities have clerical access to information held by the Department which is relevant to the processing of housing benefit claims.
	Electronic access to income support and jobseeker's allowance data is already available through remote access terminals sited in local authorities. We are currently investigating how we can give local authorities tailored electronic access to other Departmental benefit data.

Jobcentre Plus

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department was involved in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive prior to the removal of glass security screens from new Jobcentre Plus offices.

Nick Brown: Yes.

Disabled People

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for disabled people in work to be charged on their earnings.

Maria Eagle: This Government are committed to removing barriers to work for severely disabled people, making work possible and making it pay for those who can move into employment. To this end the Departments of Health and for Work and Pensions have both recently announced significant improvements in this area. The Department of Health issued new guidance for local councils setting out a new fairer charging framework for home care services on 23 November requiring councils to disregard earnings in assessing ability to pay a charge by no later than 1 October 2002.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions announced in his uprating statement on 28 November that the earnings rule in the independent living funds will be abolished from April 2002, removing a disincentive for severely disabled people and/or their partners to obtain or retain work, or to seek advancement at work.

Benefit Take-Up

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action has been taken by each local authority in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01 to increase benefit take-up; how much each campaign has cost; and how many people are employed by each local authority to improve benefit take-up.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Secondment (BP)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many BP employees are on secondment to the Government; for what purposes; and on what terms.

Tony Blair: The Government are committed to interchange which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations.
	Information about individual secondments to Government from outside organisations is not held centrally.
	Since May 1997 there have been no inward secondments from BP to the Cabinet Office, including No. 10.

Interception of Communications

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  in respect of the allegations made by Lord Ahmed of telephone tapping, for what reason his spokesman departed from the normal policy of neither confirming nor denying; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if it is his policy that in respect of Members of the House of (a) Commons and (b) Lords, no authorisation will be given for the interception of communications; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: As I informed the House on 30 October 1997, Official Report, column 861, Government policy remains as stated in 1966 by the then Prime Minister, the Lord Wilson of Rievaulx. In answer to questions on 17 November 1966, Lord Wilson said that he had given instructions that there was to be no tapping of the telephones of Members of the House of Commons and that if there were a development which required a change of policy, he would at such moment as seemed compatible with the security of the country, on his own initiative, make a statement in the House about it. The then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, Lord Bassam, confirmed on 27 September 2000 that this policy extended to Members of the House of Lords.
	With this long-standing exception in relation to Members of Parliament, it remains the normal policy of the Government neither to confirm nor deny allegations in respect of interception matters.

National Health Service Review

Liam Fox: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will publish the terms of reference of the inquiry into the NHS headed by Adair Turner; and if he will publish the final report;
	(2)  if he will publish the review by Adair Turner of the workings of the NHS.

Tony Blair: Adair Turner is working with my Forward Strategy Unit to provide advice as required on taking forward the NHS Plan and its objectives. Internal policy advice to Ministers remains confidential. Any decisions made by Ministers in the light of it will, of course, be made public.

European Union

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister what the purpose is of the proposal to create an elected President of Europe discussed at the European Union Summit; if the proposal is subject to unanimity; and what the policy of Her Majesty's Government is on the issue.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) in the House on 17 December 2001, Official Report, columns 34–35.

Quality of Life Speech

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made on the issues outlined in his Quality of Life speech in April; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: We are delivering on our commitment to improve the lives of people through the regeneration of our communities and neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit was established in April 2001, dedicated to ensuring no one is seriously disadvantaged by where they live. Substantial resources have been made available, including the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which will provide £900 million over the next three years to improve services in the most deprived neighbourhoods. Proposals in the Police Bill and Local Government White Paper will also take forward the liveability agenda, helping to make our streets and neighbourhoods safer, cleaner and more accessible.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Spending

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total expenditure was on (a) advertising, (b) polling, (c) focus groups, (d) design consultants, (e) caterers, (f) production of departmental publications and (g) photographs/photographers by her Department for each year since 1995 in (i) cash and (ii) real terms; what was (A) the annual percentage increase in spending on each category and (B) spending on each category as a percentage of the total departmental running costs; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Liddell: The Government are committed to using only whatever media and channels are judged to be the most cost-effective way to deliver the publicity necessary to support the implementation of policy. Paid advertising is only resorted to after careful consideration of the cost benefits.
	As the volume of information requested spans Scottish Office/Scotland Office dates, I shall write to the hon. Member with the information as soon as possible.

Press Notices

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) press notices and (b) consultation documents were issued by her Department during the Summer recess.

Helen Liddell: holding answer 23 November 2001
	59 press notices were issued during the summer recess. They are published on the Scotland Office website, which is freely available to the public. No consultation documents were issued during the period.

Departmental Promotions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much her Department spent on information literature, advertising and campaign material in the financial years (a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98, (d) 1998–99, (e) 1999–2000 and (f) 2000–01; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Liddell: The Scottish Office spends on information literature, advertising and campaign material are listed:
	
		£ 
		
			 Year Total spend 
		
		
			 1995–96 2,778,000 
			 1996–97 3,778,621 
			 1997–98 3,344,245 
			 1998–99 5,644,262 
			 1999-June 1999 878,330 
		
	
	The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. The spends on information literature, advertising and campaign material since this date are listed.
	
		£ 
		
			 Year Total spend 
		
		
			 1 July 1999–2000 1,131.63 
			 2000–01 322,136.64

Departmental Name Change

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost was of re-branding her Department following its name change after the general election.

Helen Liddell: My Department did not change its name after the general election.

Air Services

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions she has had with (a) airline companies and (b) others regarding the extra costs of flights to and from Scotland since 11 September.

Helen Liddell: On 3 December I hosted a meeting attended by most of the major airlines, airport operators, business representatives and development and tourism agencies.
	While some of the airlines have experienced additional security costs following the events of 11 September, a number of operators confirmed that they were successfully generating new business.

Night Flights

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with representatives of the airline industry regarding the noise of night flights arriving at or departing from Scottish airports;
	(2)  what complaints the Government have received about the noise of night flights from people living under the flight path or close to (a) Edinburgh Airport, (b) Glasgow Airport and (c) Aberdeen Airport.

Helen Liddell: The control and regulation of noise generated by the use of airports in Scotland is a devolved responsibility and is therefore a matter for the Scottish Executive.

Tourism

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment she has made of the impact on Scottish tourism of the additional costs imposed on flights to and from Scotland since 11 September.

Helen Liddell: Sponsorship of the tourism industry in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive and Visit Scotland.

Boundary Commissions

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure the publication of alternative proposals made by electoral boundaries commissions to the Boundary Commissioners, at the same time as the commissioners publish their proposals for boundary changes.

Helen Liddell: The publication of provisional recommendations for parliamentary constituencies is a matter solely for the Boundary Commission for Scotland in accordance with the provisions of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Helen Liddell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Minster of State, Cabinet Office, at column 335.

WALES

EU Structural Funds

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the projected change in the level of receipts from the EU from 2001–02 to 2002–03.

Paul Murphy: The projected level of receipts from the EU shows a progressive increase between 2001–02 and 2002–03 to reflect the expected build-up of spend in the Structural Fund programmes. The management of EU Structural Funds is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Government Accounts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the financial implications of the participation by his Department in the whole of Government Accounts project.

Paul Murphy: I expect any net additional costs to be minimal.

Government Accounts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the cost of depreciation from 1999 to 2001 to 2001 to 2004.

Paul Murphy: The implementation of Resource Accounting and Budgeting has altered the way that depreciation is reflected in Government accounts. Depreciation factors reflect best accounting practice and may vary depending on the nature of the asset involved.

Learning and Skills Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the costs to public funds of the implementation in Wales of the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

Don Touhig: This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Business Plan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what cost savings have been identified by his Department's preparation of an annual business plan.

Paul Murphy: My Department's financial provision for capital expenditure and for paybill and general administrative expenditure is constant in cash terms over the period 2001–02 to 2003–04. This provides an automatic mechanism for delivering cost savings at least equal to the rate of inflation each year.

Welsh Assembly

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the funding settlement for the Welsh Assembly for 2001 to 2004.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the statement I made to the Welsh Grand Committee on 19 July 2000.

Departmental Operating Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reasons for the change in the operating costs of his Department from (a) 1999–2000 to 2000–2001 and (b) 2000–01 to 2001–02.

Paul Murphy: My Department came into being on 1 July 1999 and so was operational for only three- quarters of the financial year 1999–2000.
	Annexe 3 of the Departmental Report 2001 shows an estimated outturn on "paybill and general administrative expenditure" of £2.259 million in 2000–01 and projected expenditure of £2.279 million in 2001–02. This is a change of less than 1 per cent.

Departmental Payments

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on progress with his Department's target for making payments in accordance with the applicable timetable where a contract applies;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on progress with the target of paying accounts within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice.

Paul Murphy: Over the last three months, my Department has on average paid 88 per cent. of its bills on time each month.

Capital Charges

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the cost of capital charges from 1999–01 to 2001–04.

Paul Murphy: The treatment of capital charges has altered during this period with the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting.
	For my Department, the cost of capital arises essentially from the headquarters building (Gwydyr House) and its contents. Gwydyr House was professionally valued on 31 March 2000 and under current accounting policies is due to have professional revaluations every five years.
	The cost of capital charge is applied to average net assets of a department over a financial year and is charged at 6 per cent. which is the Treasury's discounted rate.

Children's Commissioner for Wales

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the cost to public funds of the Children's Commissioner for Wales.

Paul Murphy: This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Departmental Expenditure Limit

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the reason for the change in the capital departmental expenditure limit from (a) 1999–2000 to 2000–01 and (b) 2000–01 to 2001–02.

Paul Murphy: The capital Departmental Expenditure Limit attributable to my Department meets those administrative costs which are of a capital nature—primarily the need to maintain, refurbish, and improve access to, Gwydyr House, Changes in provision are agreed in the light of expected pressures.

Information Systems

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on changes resulting from his Department's development of its financial and management information systems.

Paul Murphy: My Department's financial and management information systems are being further upgraded; the changes which may result are not yet known.

Brynglas Tunnels

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the Welsh Assembly on the effects on the future economy of Wales of traffic congestion at the Brynglas Tunnels.

Paul Murphy: I meet regularly with the First Minister when we discuss a range of matters, including the economy and the transport infrastructure in Wales.
	The new Southern Distributor Road recently announced by Newport county borough should greatly improve the road network in the Newport area and help provide a boost to economic development prospects.
	The National Assembly is considering other options to alleviate congestion around Newport.

Job Losses (Nantgarw)

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what co-operation he has had with the National Assembly in developing a response to the job losses at G.E. Aircraft Engine Services at Nantgarw in South Wales.

Paul Murphy: I regret the decision taken by General Electric to shed around 350 jobs at its plant in Nantgarw and the effect this decision will have on those who will lose their jobs and the effects on their families and the community.
	The First Minister met representatives of GE in September of this year. I know that Assembly officials have been in regular contact with GE and will offer and provide whatever support they can.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

Paul Murphy: Figures are published in annual Departmental Reports.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Paul Murphy: My Department does not employ any staff directly and so is limited in its capacity to influence the terms on which they are employed.
	However I should be delighted to welcome a higher proportion of older people among those being seconded to the Wales Office from other organisations.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the list of the changed circumstances a housing benefit claimant must report.

Malcolm Wicks: The duty to notify changes of circumstances is set out in regulation 75 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987. Subject to the exceptions set out in regulation 75(2), the regulation provides that a person claiming housing benefit has a duty to notify the local authority in writing of any change of circumstances that he or she might reasonably be expected to know might affect his or her right to housing benefit, the amount of benefit or his or her receipt of benefit. It is not possible to provide a definitive list of relevant changes as these will depend on each person's individual circumstances.
	How people are made aware of their responsibility to notify changes of circumstances is a matter for individual local authorities to decide upon. However, we have developed a model housing benefit and council tax benefit claim form which local authorities are encouraged to use. The guidance for completing the form includes a list of many of the common changes which must be reported.

Housing Benefit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will list in date order the housing benefit regulations and amendments to them issued since September 2000;
	(2)  how many (a) sets of housing benefit regulations, (b) number of housing benefit regulations, (c) amendments to housing benefit regulations and (d) housing benefit circulars there have been in each year since 1988.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will list the date and nature of each of the changes to housing benefit regulations that have been made since April 1997;
	(2)  if he will list the dates and subject matters of the circulars he has sent to local authorities on (a) housing benefit administration and (b) measures to tackle housing benefit fraud since April 2000.

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many regulatory changes affecting the administration of housing benefits have been made (a) in each year since 1997 and (b) in each month since July 2000;
	(2)  how many departmental circulars modifying housing benefit rules have been issued (a) each year since 1997 and (b) each month since July 2000.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 11 December 2001
	Many of the changes we have made to the housing benefit and council tax benefit schemes since 1997 support our wide-ranging welfare reform initiatives.
	We recognise the need to ensure that the impact of such change on local authorities is fully taken into account before implementation. We are, therefore, establishing a Regulation Scrutiny Group, including local authority representatives, to consider future proposed regulations, and to report on the implications for local authorities.
	The available information on the number of sets of housing benefit regulations, statutory instruments containing regulations amending housing benefit provisions and circulars issued is in the table.
	
		
			 Year Sets of housing benefit (HB) regulations Statutory instruments containing regulations amending HB provisions Number of HB circulars issued 
		
		
			 1988 3 3 20 
			 1989 2 2 25 
			 1990 3 8 23 
			 1991 3 6 20 
			 1992 4 11 35 
			 1993 5 11 46 
			 1994 5 10 34 
			 1995 7 13 58 
			 1996 4 16 57 
			 1997 8 18 83 
			 1998 4 14 89 
			 1999 4 15 81 
			 2000 5 23 73 
			 2001(13) 8 20 74 
		
	
	(13) To October 31
	Information on the number of individual provisions, including how they affect administration, within each set of regulations and amendments to them could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a list of sets of regulations affecting housing benefit (including amendments to these regulations) made between 1 September 2000 and 10 December 2001 has been placed in the Library.
	The numbers of departmental circulars identified as giving guidance on changes to housing benefit rules for each year since 1997 and each month since July 2000 are in the table.
	
		
			 Year/month Number 
		
		
			 1997 47 
			 1998 41 
			 1999 43 
			   
			 2000  
			 January to June 21 
			 July 3 
			 August 1 
			 September 6 
			 October 2 
			 November 5 
			 December 3 
			  
			 Total 41 
			   
			 2001  
			 January 3 
			 February 4 
			 March 5 
			 April 6 
			 May 3 
			 June 2 
			 July 2 
			 August 4 
			 September 2 
			 October 6 
			 November 3 
			 December 1 
			  
			 Total(14) 40 
		
	
	(14) To 30 November
	Note:
	Circulars that confirm, consolidate or reinforce previous guidance are not included. Circulars that interpret changes to rules in relation to the Verification Framework are also not included.

Housing Benefit

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the figure for expenditure on the housing benefit under occupation pilot that was not specified on page 103 of the 2001 Departmental report.

Malcolm Wicks: The under-occupation pilot encourages housing benefit recipients living in under- occupied social housing to move to smaller and cheaper accommodation in order to make more efficient use of housing stock. The pilot is expected to run until 2003. Estimated expenditure in 2000–01 was £17,335. This figure is subject to adjustment on receipt of audited claims from participating authorities.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) costs and (b) savings to the housing benefit budget in each region in England of the introduction of rent restructuring in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Initial estimates suggest that the overall public expenditure cost of rent restructuring, taking account of housing benefit payments, rental income of councils and grant requirements for new housing association developments is broadly neutral.

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of all (a) council and (b) registered social landlord tenants in each London local authority are in receipt of housing benefit;
	(2)  what percentage of (a) council and (b) registered social landlord tenants in each London local authority are pensioners and of these what proportion are in receipt of housing benefit.

Malcolm Wicks: Information is not available in the format requested.
	The total number of local authority and social landlord tenants by local authority is not collected centrally. Reliable estimates of the number of pensioners in receipt of housing benefit and living in either local authority or social landlord housing by each London local authority are not available.

Disability Living Allowance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of and how many people in receipt of disability living allowance have mental health problems.

Maria Eagle: At 31 May 2001, about 267,500 recipients of disability living allowance—almost 12 per cent. of the total number—had mental health problems recorded as their principal disabling condition. In addition, about 222,200 recipients—almost 10 per cent. of the total number—had learning difficulties so recorded.

Disability Living Allowance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of claimants in receipt of the mobility components of disability living allowance do so because of mental health problems.

Maria Eagle: At 31 May 2001, about 12 per cent. of people who receive the mobility component of disability living allowance had mental health problems recorded as their principal disabling condition. In addition, about 10 per cent. had learning difficulties so recorded.

Disability Living Allowance

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many awards of disability living allowance have been made in each of the last three years to people suffering with sickle cell anaemia.

Maria Eagle: This information is not available in the form requested. About 600 awards of disability living allowance are made each year to people with blood disorders recorded as their principal disabling condition. Some of these cases may involve sickle cell anaemia.

Jobcentre Plus

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training front-line staff of Jobcentre Plus receive on working with clients with mental health problems.

Nick Brown: All staff working in the Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices work through an open learning module on disability awareness. This covers different types of disabilities including mental health. We are also developing a two-day trainer-led event for front line Jobcentre Plus staff. This includes information on working with customers with mental health conditions provided by The Mental Health Foundation. Our training provision also makes use of a video from the Employers' Forum on Disability.

New Deal

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 28 November 2001, Official Report, column 901W, on the new deal, to the hon. hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Mr. Shaw) how many of the new deal starts in his Department resulted in sustained employment for the person concerned in the Department; if he will give a breakdown of these starts by branch of the new deal; and how many of the starts in other Government Departments resulted in sustained employment for the person concerned in the Department in question.

Nick Brown: This information is not collected centrally for all of the Department and its agencies, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, in the Employment Service (ES) up to October 2001, of the 768 people taken on under the new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus, 284 have gained permanent employment with the ES and a further 87 have found permanent employment outside the ES.

New Deal

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed by the Department under the new deal for young people; and at what cost to public funds.

Nick Brown: Information follows on the number of people employed by the Employment Service under the new deal for young people. Information for the rest of the Department is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	New deal recruits take up existing vacancies so extra costs are limited to the subsidy, where appropriate, and any additional training and development which may be needed. The cost of the latter cannot be readily identified.
	Up to October 2001, the Employment Service had recruited 688 people under new deal for young people. The subsidy had been claimed for 562 of these at a cost of approximately £1.3 million. The Employment Service has also taken on 2,254 new deal jobseekers under its normal recruitment processes. This figure includes people on new deal for young people and new deal 25 plus and cannot be broken down. These recruits have been treated the same way as other employees and have generated no extra costs to public funds.

Wirral Young Carers Project

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to pay Wirral Young Carers group the money from the European Social Fund applied for in 2000.

Nick Brown: Payment in respect of the Wirral Young Carers project will be progressed as quickly as possible when an application for an advance claim is received from Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

Maternity Allowance

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Glasgow receive the sure start maternity grant.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table:
	
		
			  Benefits Agency District Number of sure start maternity grants made between 27 March 2000(15) and 31 October 2001 
		
		
			 Glasgow East 1,250 
			 Glasgow North 1,735 
			 Glasgow South 2,380 
			  
			 Total 5,360 
		
	
	(15) Sure start maternity grants replaced the social fund maternity payment for any child born or adopted on or after 11 June 2000 at the rate of £200 for each child. 27 March 2000 is the earliest date on which a claim for a sure start maternity grant could be made.
	Notes:
	1. The payments were raised to £300 from 18 September 2000 and the rate is set to increase again to £500 in 2002.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest five
	Source:
	Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management System

Maternity Pay

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much small employers will be able to recover for the statutory maternity pay they pay out from 6 April 2002.

Malcolm Wicks: Currently small employers whose gross national insurance payments in a tax year are £20,000 or less (the small employers relief threshold) can recover 100 per cent. of the Statutory Maternity Pay they pay out plus an additional amount, currently 5 per cent., in compensation for the employers share of national insurance contributions due on SMP payments. The compensation rate is reviewed each year based on a formula which compares the employers' share of national insurance paid on SMP with the total amount of SMP paid by all employers.
	From 6 April 2002 the threshold is being doubled to £40,000. This will mean that an additional 10,000 employers a year will qualify and in all around 60 per cent. of all employers paying SMP in a year will get full reimbursement. At the same time the additional compensation rate is being amended to 4.5 per cent. in line with the estimates made of SMP due to be paid and employers' national insurance costs on those payments from April 2002. Regulations will shortly be laid to achieve these changes.

Disability Rights Task Force

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proposals have been made by the Disability Rights Task Force; and how they will be implemented.

Maria Eagle: The Disability Rights Task Force issued two reports. The first was on a Disability Rights Commission, which we established in April 2000. The second was on comprehensive civil rights, on which we published our response, "Towards Inclusion", in March 2001. Copies of "Towards Inclusion" are available in the Library.

Departmental Staff (Home Working)

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage staff to work from home; and how many staff do so on a regular basis.

Nick Brown: The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to the Work-Life balance of its staff. A range of flexible working patterns including part time working, job sharing and homeworking is available to staff by agreement with their management. The flexibility to work at home is most frequently used on an ad-hoc basis, but there are individuals who have homeworking as a regular part of their working pattern. The Department is currently looking at ways in which data on the number of people taking up the flexibility can be captured.
	The Department for Work and Pensions publicises its policy on flexible working and encourages managers to respond positively to requests as part of their commitment to the diversity agenda. Although the current disparate IT systems allow varying degrees of access to systems at the office, the Department is developing IT infrastructures, complete with the necessary security measures that will in the future allow more flexible and widespread access to office IT systems from home.

Departmental Spending

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills of 3 December 2001, Official Report, column 81W, on departmental underspend, how he intends to spend the money transferred to his Department from underspend in the Department for Education and Skills in financial year 2000–01.

Nick Brown: Of the £326 million, £220 million is ring fenced for European Structural Funds and was included in Department's Estimate at the Winter Supplementary. The Remaining £106 million was available end year flexibility within the Employment Opportunities Fund.
	The Department has included £52.6 million in its estimate at the Winter Supplementary; this has been allocated to the new deal programmes. DfES has included £40 million in their estimate at the winter supplementary and allocated it to new deal for Schools. Any further draw down will need to be agreed with the Treasury.

Winter Fuel Allowance (Battersea)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Battersea will receive the £200 winter fuel allowance this winter.

Ian McCartney: Winter fuel payments are made to most people aged 60 and over, regardless of whether they receive a state retirement pension. The rate is either £200 or £100, depending on whether the person lives alone or with another eligible person. Around 10,400 people in Battersea received a winter fuel payment last year and, of these, around 6,800 received a payment at £200. We expect the figures for this year to be similar.

Benefits (Epsom and Ewell)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Epsom and Ewell constituency receive (a) disability living allowance and (b) carers allowance.

Maria Eagle: There were 1,795 recipients of disability living allowance in Epsom and Ewell at 31 May 2001.
	No information is available on invalid care allowance by parliamentary constituency. At 30 September 2001 there were 379,780 recipients in Great Britain.

Benefits (Epsom and Ewell)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applicants for carers benefit in the Epsom and Ewell constituency have had their claims refused in each of the past five years.

Maria Eagle: This information is not readily available for individual constituencies.

Pension Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library (a) a summary and (b) a complete set of responses to the Pension Credit consultation paper.

Ian McCartney: The responses were placed in the Library on 28 November.

Pension Credit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the pension credit, the method of application and who is eligible to receive it.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 3 December 2001
	I refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's oral statement on 28 November.
	A Bill to implement the Government's proposals for Pension Credit was introduced in the House of Lords on 28 November 2001. Copies of the Bill and the explanatory notes have been placed in the Library, together with a booklet, "The Pension Credit: the Government's proposals setting out how Pension Credit will work". Copies are also available in the Vote Office.

Advertising Campaign

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 27 November 2001, Official Report, column 828W, which section of the table shows the costs of the 'What Have You Got to Offer?' advertising campaign.

Nick Brown: The information is in the table.
	
		£ 
		
			  Advertising and Media Other costs 
		
		
			 Targeting benefit fraud 5,747,000 402,252 
			 National Benefit Fraud Hotline advertising 425,178  
			 Minimum Income Guarantee 3,365,000 176,000(16) 
			 Inherited SERPS 340,000 345,000 
			 Winter Fuel Payments 616,000 294,000 
			 Pensions Education(18) 5,232,000(17) 1,297,000 
			 Bereavement Benefits 155,000 90,000 
			 New Deal for Young People 558,201 951,728 
			 New Deal 50+ 2,175,367 63,793 
			 New Deal Partners 99,445 67,310 
			 Action Teams for Jobs 58,504 440 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 2,292,000 295,000 
			 "What have you got to offer" 2,946,997 152,625 
			 New Deal for Disabled People 31,372 240,387 
		
	
	(16) This includes £30,985 customer research into a new MIG claim form which straddled two financial years.
	(17) The overall Pensions Education marketing budget figure remains unchanged at £6,529,062 (which was rounded to £6,530,000). Within this total, the advertising media and production cost given previously has changed from £5,212,000 to £5,232,000. This takes account of some photography costs that were previously included as part of "other costs", but can be directly attributed to advertising.
	(18) In addition to the total of £6,529,062 (which was rounded to £6,530,000) £103,370 was spent on completing our previous pensions education activity (with a Monopoly theme) that preceded the new "Working Dogs" campaign, as well as some developmental work that was undertaken before the new Working Dogs Campaign was launched.

Older People

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what preparatory work his Department is undertaking in conjunction with other departments for the UN World Assembly for Older People in Madrid next March.

Ian McCartney: Our preparation for the United Nations' World Assembly on Ageing is on schedule and is being taken forward in close co-operation with other government departments and older people's organisations.
	Much of the work to date has focused on developing the main objective of the Assembly—the International Strategy on Ageing. Consultation with colleagues across Government and the voluntary sector has helped to shape the UK's contribution to the Strategy.
	The current draft can be found on www.un.org/esa/ socdev/ageing/waa.
	The World Assembly will be an important event and we will be working closely with our colleagues across government, older people's organisations and older people themselves to finalise our plans.

Pensioners (Benefits)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates he has made of non-take-up of means-tested benefits by pensioners by (a) expenditure and (b) caseload in (i) the English regions, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.

Ian McCartney: Estimates for non-take-up of income- related benefits (council tax benefit, housing benefit, income support, jobseeker's allowance) by pensioners are available for Great Britain and can be found in the DWP publication "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up 1999–2000". Copies are available in the House of Commons Library. No estimates are available for different parts of Great Britain.

Unemployment (West Wiltshire)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people in Wiltshire have gained employment under the new deal; and what percentage this represents of all unemployed young people.

Nick Brown: Up to the end of September 2001, the new deal had helped 1,888 young people move into work in the Wiltshire Employment Service district. There are currently 919 unemployed young people in the district.
	Setting the stock of unemployed young people at a point in time against the flow of young people into jobs through the new deal is not a meaningful comparison. However, in Wiltshire long-term youth unemployment has fallen by 70 per cent. since the new deal started. Although some of this reduction is a result of this Government's success in delivering steady economic growth, the new deal for young people has also played an important role.

Landlords (Compensation Payments)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what were the figures for compensation payments to landlords that were not specified on page 103 of the 2001 Departmental report.

Malcolm Wicks: The compensation scheme ended in April 2000 when the transitional housing benefit scheme was implemented.
	The information requested is in the table.
	
		£ 
		
			 Year Outturn 
		
		
			 1997–98 6,000 
			 1998–99 363,000 
			 1999–2000 140,000 
			 2000–01 (estimated) 27,000 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000

IS and IT Services (Savings)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the saving from the contract for IS and IT services to deliver new wide area network services.

Ian McCartney: The contract price of the new WAN service is broadly comparable to that of the old one.
	However, the Department will receive a significantly improved service in the areas of service flexibility, performance, management information and security, and so position the Department to further modernise its IT in the future.

Council Tax Benefit

Iain Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to review the council tax benefits restriction scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: We have no plans to review the present council tax benefit restrictions.
	Since 2 July 2001, local authorities have been able to make discretionary housing payments to those people entitled to housing benefit and council tax benefit who require additional financial assistance with their rent or council tax. This includes those whose council tax benefit has been restricted. These payments are at the discretion of the local authority and subject to an annual cash limit.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the increase in the departmental expenditure limit from 2001–02 to 2002–03 will be accounted for by wage costs.

Nick Brown: The level of wage costs within departmental budgets this year and in future years will be dependent upon negotiations. Departmental reports published next spring will give full retrospective costs.

Stakeholder Pension Schemes

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if contracted-in stakeholder pension schemes will be deregistered.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 10 December 2001
	The Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority has written to the four stakeholder pension schemes that are not contracted-out, and they have the opportunity of applying for contracted-out status.

Pensions

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish draft regulations to facilitate the equalisation of benefits for pensions schemes being wound up.

Ian McCartney: We do not propose to publish draft regulations. Equalisation of benefits in pension schemes is a matter for the trustees of schemes.

Pensions

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reports by the Pension Provisions Group entitled 
	(1)  "Pensions and the Labour Market";
	(2)  "Pension Provision and Self-Employment".

Ian McCartney: We welcome the "Pensions and the Labour Market" report. We are pleased to note that the group has concluded that our pension reforms, together with measures to encourage and facilitate paid work,
	"should improve the overall level of pension provision".
	We share the Pension Provision Group's view that good quality, occupational pension schemes will continue to work well for large numbers of people.
	We also welcome the group's report on pension provision and self-employment. It makes a useful contribution to the debate on this important issue.

Tax Credits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost savings arising from the simplification of income support and the income based element of the jobseeker's allowance as a consequence of the provisions of the Tax Credits Bill.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Paragraph 210 of the explanatory notes to the Tax Credits Bill says that there are expected to be annual reductions in expenditure across DWP policy responsibilities amounting to £4 billion, arising from the abolition of the child related elements of IS/JSA, the new deal 50 plus employment credit and child dependency increases.

Benefits (South Shields)

David Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in South Shields are claiming (a) incapacity benefit, (b) working families tax credit and (c) children's tax credit.

Nick Brown: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Recipients of incapacity benefit and working families tax credit in the South Shields parliamentary constituency
		
			 Benefit/tax credit Number 
		
		
			 Incapacity benefit(19),(20),(21) 5,600 
			 Working families' tax credit(20),(21) 2,500 
		
	
	(19) Excludes a small number of cases held clerically.
	(20) Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(21) Estimates based on 5 per cent. samples and are subject to error.
	Notes:
	1. Incapacity benefit figures are for August 2001. Working families tax credit figures are for May 2001.
	2. Children's tax credit figures are not available by parliamentary constituency.
	Source:
	Incapacity Benefit Quarterly Statistical Inquiry August 2001.
	Working families' tax credit quarterly statistical Inquiry May 2001.

Means-tested Benefits

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give the latest annualised cost of means- tested benefits for those also in receipt of a retirement pension, broken down by (a) minimum income guarantee payments, (b) housing benefit, (c) council tax benefit, (d) disability benefits and (e) other benefits.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Forecast expenditure for 2001–02 on income-related benefits for the pensioner group 1 is given in the table:
	
		
			   £ million(23) 
		
		
			 Minimum income guarantee(24) 4,530 
			 Housing benefit 4,460 
			 Council tax benefit 1,390 
			 Social fund 35 
			  
			 Total 10,415 
		
	
	(22) Statistics for the pensioner group in income-related benefit include benefit units in which the claimant is a man aged 60–64 as well as those in which the claimant is over pension age.
	(23) Figures are rounded to the nearest £5 million and are consistent with social security totals published in the pre-Budget Report 2001.
	(24) Expenditure on minimum income guarantee includes premiums related to disability where relevant.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 840W, on judges' accommodation, if he will publish (a) the terms of reference and (b) the comparison made of the value for money provided by judges lodgings undertaken as part of the triennial review of judges lodgings.

Michael Wills: The notional comparison referred to in my previous reply was undertaken merely to test the overall assumption that lodgings should continue to be the main method by which accommodation is provided. The terms of reference were to compare the cost of lodgings with alternative forms of accommodation providing appropriate standards of security, privacy and comfort. Hotel costs were calculated on the assumption that the judge and his clerk would be accommodated in a high quality hotel, that the judge would occupy a suite of rooms consisting of a double bedroom, a lounge/study and en-suite bathroom facilities, and that the clerk would have a single room with en-suite bathroom facilities. Allowance was also made for other associated costs e.g. transport to and from court.
	This comparison was an academic exercise using notional representative costs and only formed a small part of the triennial review. Additionally, the costs attributed to hotel use excluded any additional security costs that would inevitably be required to provide the safe and secluded environment provided by lodgings. It would therefore be misleading to publish the comparison.

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the average cost of running judges' lodgings per judge accommodated at each of the individual lodgings in the Lodging Estate for the financial years (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 2000–01.

Michael Wills: It has not been possible in the time available to provide the average cost per judge accommodated for each lodgings. However, the following four tables show the average cost per judge week for each of the lodgings based on:
	Total costs;
	Total costs excluding capital charge; and
	Costs solely attributable to judicial occupation.
	The figures for 2000–01 are yet to be audited and may therefore be subject to slight change.
	
		Judges lodgings costs per judge week used 2000–01
		
			 Lodgings Total cost Total cost (ex. capital charge) Judicial cost 
		
		
			 Birmingham 3,533.91 2,699.39 1,575.38 
			 Leicester 4,762.45 4,762.45 2,014.00 
			 Lincoln 4,243.80 4,243.80 1,394.48 
			 Nottingham 4,390.58 3,673.53 1,713.84 
			 Northampton 6,656.09 6,656.09 2,957.22 
			 Oxford 7,151.67 7,151.67 3,027.67 
			 Stafford 4,795.15 4,795.15 1,475.21 
			 Warwick n/a n/a n/a 
			 Worcester 4,156.39 4,156.39 2,494.23 
			 Hull 1,531.60 1,531.60 531.60 
			 Leeds 3,396.48 3,396.48 1,875.43 
			 Plawsworth 3,609.13 3,162.78 1,577.22 
			 Sheffield 5,648.90 4,930.35 1,887.64 
			 Carlisle 2,894.76 2,894.76 1,380.47 
			 Liverpool 2,572.33 2,572.33 1,464.24 
			 Manchester 3,545.65 3,204.06 1,768.03 
			 Preston 4,923.96 3,774.42 2,345.18 
			 Chelmsford 8,006.79 8,006.79 1,325.09 
			 Lewes 7,324.39 7,324.39 1,851.19 
			 Maidstone 9,562.82 6,599.90 1,624.16 
			 Norwich 7,668.02 5,859.42 1,443.11 
			 Reading 7,879.09 4,609.15 2,750.35 
			 St. Albans 6,517.64 4,086.66 2,154.30 
			 Caernarfon 4,621.95 4,621.95 2,365.17 
			 Cardiff 3,765.72 3,348.43 2,056.06 
			 Chester 7,678.89 6,800.42 2,408.72 
			 Mold 9,141.94 9,141.94 2,546.64 
			 Swansea 5,662.69 5,005.88 2,362.40 
			 Bristol 4,591.42 4,591.42 1,676.56 
			 Exeter 2,214.01 2,214.01 972.89 
			 Plymouth 3,568.68 3,568.68 1,857.96 
			 Truro 3,317.57 3,317.57 1,026.95 
			 Winchester 4,615.57 2,899.21 1,666.25 
		
	
	
		Judges lodgings costs per judge week used 1999–2000
		
			 Lodging Total cost Total cost (ex. capital charge) Judicial cost 
		
		
			 Birmingham 2,876.90 2,289.93 1,449.13 
			 Nottingham 4,702.90 4,003.62 1,866.48 
			 Leicester 3,303.62 3,303.62 1,227.78 
			 Oxford 4,108.95 4,108.95 1,956.76 
			 Worcester 4,138.25 4,138.25 2,158.81 
			 Lincoln 4,175.64 4,175.64 1,602.87 
			 Northampton 5,441.63 5,441.63 2,363.53 
			 Stafford 3,569.39 3,569.39 1,450.80 
			 Warwick 1,305.70 1,305.70 1,128.76 
			 Leeds 2,824.77 2,824.77 1,676.55 
			 Plawsworth 2,971.92 2,444.50 1,599.24 
			 Sheffield 7,098.81 6,437.52 1,791.37 
			 Carlisle 3,068.06 3,068.06 1,138.70 
			 Liverpool 2,743.22 2,743.22 1,325.40 
			 Manchester 3,455.46 3,131.71 1,983.10 
			 Preston 3,922.62 2,951.78 1,941.19 
			 Chelmsford 3,361.45 3,361.45 863.91 
			 Lewes 6,016.60 6,016.60 1,862.79 
			 Maidstone 7,798.97 5,855.74 1,738.38 
			 Norwich 4,836.31 3,910.96 1,257.34 
			 Reading 5,155.12 3,480.41 2,536.65 
			 St. Albans 6,526.01 4,384.25 2,242.23 
			 Caernarfon 5,296.55 5,296.55 3,388.50 
			 Cardiff 3,552.48 3,135.69 1,890.13 
			 Chester 4,999.98 4,304.70 2,372.98 
			 Mold 10,131.43 10,131.43 2,070.52 
			 Swansea 6,196.83 5,312.62 2,547.83 
			 Bristol 3,315.83 3,315.83 1,411.90 
			 Exeter 3,482.10 3,482.10 810.02 
			 Plymouth 5,623.55 5,623.55 2,625.57 
			 Truro 4,996.84 4,996.84 1,306.44 
			 Winchester 3,461.95 2,754.38 1,624.54 
		
	
	
		Judges lodgings costs per judge week used 1998–99
		
			 Lodging Total cost Total cost (ex. capital charge) Judicial cost 
		
		
			 Birmingham 2,856.91 2,357.07 1,487.28 
			 Nottingham 2,802.23 2,404.89 1,615.48 
			 Leicester 3,769.64 3,769.64 2,103.60 
			 Oxford 5,284.32 5,284.32 3,234.05 
			 Worcester 3,491.08 3,491.08 1,546.46 
			 Lincoln 3,988.73 3,988.73 1,313.98 
			 Northampton 5,021.86 5,021.86 2,567.08 
			 Stafford 5,306.43 5,306.43 817.91 
			 Warwick 1,644.05 1,644.05 1,392.05 
			 Leeds 3,852.17 3,852.17 2,169.48 
			 Plawsworth 3,840.67 3,271.12 1,580.26 
			 Sheffield 6,252.50 5,679.93 1,948.07 
			 Carlisle 2,648.33 2,648.33 1,336.01 
			 Liverpool 3,892.21 3,892.21 1,899.50 
			 Manchester 2,830.63 2,568.57 1,764.47 
			 Preston 6,479.53 5,403.21 2,529.82 
			 Chelmsford 3,038.26 3,038.26 693.29 
			 Lewes 5,464.20 5,464.20 2,454.96 
			 Maidstone 7,834.84 6,568.36 1,625.89 
			 Norwich 4,596.76 3,873.48 1,434.15 
			 Reading 6,621.13 4,953.60 2,883.90 
			 St. Albans 8,558.11 5,916.78 2,237.04 
			 Caernarfon 5,356.68 5,356.68 1,740.05 
			 Cardiff 3,516.80 3,136.46 1,981.07 
			 Chester 5,834.61 5,150.78 2,857.79 
			 Mold 5,641.53 5,641.53 1,438.88 
			 Swansea 11,842.66 10,507.26 3,123.63 
			 Bristol 2,983.57 2,983.57 1,528.26 
			 Exeter 4,102.47 4,102.47 1,241.47 
			 Plymouth 3,377.18 3,377.18 1,749.64 
			 Truro 2,821.11 2,821.11 1,209.87 
			 Winchester 3,962.79 3,163.77 1,747.46 
		
	
	
		Judges lodgings costs per judge week used 1997–98
		
			 Lodging Total cost Total cost (ex. capital charge) Judicial cost 
		
		
			 Birmingham 2,986.24 2,164.86 1,594.29 
			 Nottingham 4,170.22 3,477.96 1,860.28 
			 Leicester 3,250.92 3,250.92 2,292.38 
			 Oxford 5,314.22 5,314.22 2,898.02 
			 Worcester 3,875.66 3,875.66 2,142.06 
			 Lincoln 4,633.50 4,633.50 1,597.65 
			 Northampton 9,203.92 9,203.92 2,171.35 
			 Stafford 4,453.38 4,453.38 944.64 
			 Warwick 1,342.73 1,342.73 1,389.23 
			 Leeds 4,188.48 4,188.48 2,277.69 
			 Plawsworth 2,931.25 2,462.51 1,589.49 
			 Sheffield 7,133.36 6,899.23 2,247.91 
			 Carlisle 2,594.40 2,594.40 1,145.03 
			 Liverpool 3,755.24 3,755.24 1,860.92 
			 Manchester 2,258.38 2,204.99 1,840.68 
			 Preston 5,091.80 4,760.03 3,369.78 
			 Chelmsford 7,173.80 7,173.80 1,089.71 
			 Lewes 6,082.34 6,082.34 2,483.14 
			 Maidstone 5,626.91 4,341.27 1,689.13 
			 Norwich 5,906.86 5,385.04 1,653.75 
			 Reading 6,832.71 6,063.71 3,847.25 
			 St. Albans 7,522.03 6,379.12 2,468.59 
			 Caernarfon 7,007.99 7,007.99 3,864.64 
			 Cardiff 2,462.49 2,439.58 1,817.53 
			 Chester 4,651.06 3,736.86 2,076.27 
			 Mold 12,783.80 12,783.80 3,002.27 
			 Swansea 5,787.72 5,429.20 2,874.06 
			 Bristol 2,590.13 2,465.39 1,432.53 
			 Exeter 4,144.44 4,144.44 1,084.05 
			 Plymouth 3,089.98 3,089.98 1,734.57 
			 Truro 3,888.54 3,888.54 1,408.22 
			 Winchester 2,457.83 2,357.20 1,576.91

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the capital value of the leasehold Lodging Estate in which his Department accommodates judges on circuit.

Michael Wills: Of the leasehold Lodgings Estate only two have a notional capital value (as the rents are nominal and/or historic). These are the lodgings at Birmingham and Winchester, with a combined estimated capital value of £2.75 million. The remainder are held under leases where the rents are reviewed frequently and which therefore have no capital value to the Department.

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to the answer given on 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 840W, on judges' accommodation, how many (a) butlers, (b) cooks and (c) security personnel are employed by the Lord Chancellor's Department to look after judges on circuit.

Michael Wills: Details of the numbers of butlers and chefs/cooks employed to look after judges on circuit were provided in my earlier answer given on 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 840W. The answer also states that we do not employ dedicated security staff at lodgings. All staff are expected to be vigilant and ensure that the lodgings are secure at all times.

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his definition is of a guest house of the Wolsey Lodge variety; and how it is differentiated from other forms of accommodation for judges on circuit.

Michael Wills: I am advised that "Wolsey Lodges" are a consortium of privately owned homes providing a small number of quality rooms for temporary rental. While the properties vary in size and style, they are essentially a public hotel chain. As such Wolsey Lodges are completely different from the network of private lodgings maintained by the Court Service to provide accommodation for High Court judges while on circuit.

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 840W, on judges' accommodation (a) if the comparison made of the value for money provided by judges' lodgings examined each judges' lodgings individually and (b) which judges' lodgings were assessed not to provide value for money.

Michael Wills: As stated in my earlier answer, the notional comparison undertaken as part of the triennial review was merely to test the overall assumption that lodgings should continue to be the main method by which accommodation is provided. It did not form the main value for money examination within the review.
	While a comparison was made for each judges' lodgings individually, the 'hotel alternative' costs were indicative only and did not include additional security costs which would necessarily be incurred for the protection of Her Majesty's High Court judges. It would therefore be misleading to base any decision on the future viability of individual lodgings on this comparison and to publish details of the same.
	It should also be recognised that, when discussing alternatives to lodgings, cost is not the only issue. The availability and proximity of suitably secure, private and comfortable accommodation has also to be considered.

Judges' Accommodation

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 840, on judges' accommodation, what action has been taken since publication of Lord Justice Auld's report to assess the value for money provided by individual judges' lodgings; and what action will be taken in respect of judges' lodgings assessed not to provide value for money in line with the recommendations of the Auld report.

Michael Wills: As my hon. Friend is aware, Sir Robin Auld's report was only published on 8 October. Public consultation on his recommendations takes place up to 31 January 2002.
	Consequently, no new assessment of the value for money provided by individual lodgings is being considered until this period of consultation has concluded. The Lord Chancellor will then decide on a course of action with regard to lodgings in the light of this and the findings of the triennial review.

Remand Prisoners

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what guidance he issues to courts on sending their record of a remand decision to the prison where a defendant is remanded to custody; and which courts follow this practice.

Michael Wills: All magistrates, Crown and county courts produce a warrant when remanding an individual to custody. This is given to the person or organisation transporting the individual to prison, and then handed over at the place of detention.

Legal Aid

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will break down the contract allocation for legal aid in London.

Rosie Winterton: The number of solicitor and not- for-profit contractors in the London region, by category of law, as at the end of March 2001, was as follows:
	
		
			  Solicitors Not-for-profit 
		
		
			 Family 413 2 
			 Mental health 59 4 
			 Debt 23 22 
			 Employment 39 22 
			 Consumer 32 3 
			 Housing 222 30 
			 Welfare benefits 65 43 
			 Education 12 0 
			 Community care 23 0 
			 Actions against the police 18 n/a 
			 Public law 9 n/a 
			 Immigration 266 37 
			 Personal Injury 183 n/a 
			 Clinical Negligence 70 n/a 
			 Additional Tolerance 438 n/a 
		
	
	Note:
	Not-for-profit organisations are not awarded contracts for actions against the police, public law, personal injury, clinical negligence or additional tolerance work.

Legal Aid

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the civil legal aid budget was in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2000–01; and how much was spent on the different categories of law.

Rosie Winterton: In the financial year 1999–2000 the Legal Aid Board was allocated provision of £1,182.1 million of the overall legal aid budget. There was not a predetermined sum allocated to civil legal aid. A net total of £768.5 million was spent on civil legal aid.
	In 2000–01, the Legal Services Commission was allocated a provision for the Community Legal Services Fund of £781 million.
	The Legal Services Commission, and the Legal Aid Board before it, spent the following amounts on civil representation in the different areas of law in 1999–2000 and 2000–01:
	
		£000 gross 
		
			 Category 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Family 390,895 421,094 
			
			 Non-family   
			 Actions against the police 9,149 9,869 
			 Clinical Negligence 43,229 52,779 
			 Community Care 0 42 
			 Consumer 39,617 37,031 
			 Debt 5,865 6,329 
			 Education 0 263 
			 Employment 1,368 1,542 
			 Housing 36,641 37,861 
			 Immigration and nationality 3,130 3,497 
			 Mental Health 44 237 
			 Personal Injury 261,623 267,060 
			 Public Law 8,231 9,775 
			 Welfare benefits 353 470 
			 Miscellaneous 103,514 99,904 
			 Non-family total 512,763 526,660 
			  
			 Overall total 903,658 947,754 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are stated gross since receipts cannot readily be allocated by category of law
	In addition, net expenditure on other civil legal aid (legal help, assistance by way of representation and advice and assistance) was £231.7 million in 2000–01 and £208.4 million in 1999–2000. It is not possible to split this into comparable categories because category definitions changed between the two years.

Legal Aid

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many full legal aid practitioners there were in (a) private practice and (b) not for profit contracts in (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 2000–01, broken down into (A) housing, (B) immigration, (C) employment, (D) welfare benefits, (E) education, (F) community care and (G) mental health.

Rosie Winterton: The number of solicitor contractors by category of law at the end of March 2000 and March 2001, was as follows:
	
		
			 Category 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Housing 733 673 
			 Immigration 419 482 
			 Employment 342 300 
			 Welfare benefits 451 391 
			 Education 31 40 
			 Community care 25 38 
			 Mental Health 322 349 
		
	
	The number of not-for-profit contractors by category of law at the end of March 2000 and March 2001, was as follows:
	
		
			 Category 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Housing 113 115 
			 Immigration 63 66 
			 Employment 67 73 
			 Welfare benefits 226 245 
			 Education 4 4 
			 Community care 3 0 
			 Mental Health 10 6

Community Legal Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much has been spent on setting up and maintaining community legal service partnerships in the current financial year; and which budget the funding comes from.

Rosie Winterton: As at the end of September, the Legal Services Commission had spent £1,881,500 in the current financial year on setting up and maintaining community legal service partnerships (CLSPs).
	The funds allocated to the community legal service partnerships are:
	
		£000 
		
			  Partnership support fund (PSF) 
		
		
			 Spent so far 56.5 
			 Allocated 900 
		
	
	The £900,000 allocated is made up of £400,000 from the Commission's grant in aid, and £500,000 from the Community Legal Service (CLS) Fund.
	Total staffing costs at the end of September were £1,825,000. This figure relates to the totality of planning and partnership work, and includes some elements not related to CLSP development, such as the support for, and administration of, the Commission's regional legal services committees. As these various functions are so integrated with CLSP development it has not been possible to separate out the expenditure.

Community Legal Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many (a) specialist help providers and (b) generalist providers are in operation; and how many specialist help providers were in operation when the community legal service was set up.

Rosie Winterton: As at November 2001, the following numbers of providers were in operation:
	(a) Specialist: 5,463
	(b) General help: 302
	(c) General help with casework: 241.
	At the time of the launch of the community legal service (CLS) in April 2000 only certain categories of work at what is now known as the specialist level were restricted to specialist suppliers, namely those with a licence granted under the Commission's general civil contract. Other work at what is now known as the specialist level was provided outside the contracted system. All legal help work—formerly known as advice and assistance—was contracted. It is therefore impossible to make a direct comparison between the position before 1 April 2000 and now. There were 5,286 contracted providers of all types in place in April 2000.

Community Legal Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many community legal service partnerships are operating without a specialist help provider in each category of law.

Rosie Winterton: The information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. The Legal Services Commission does not routinely collect information at national level in the terms this question asks.
	Community legal service partnerships (CLSPs) do not deliver services. They bring together organisations offering legal and advice services, such as solicitors in private practice, citizens' advice bureaux, law centres, and local authorities, and other funders, providers and users of legal and advice services. Partners act together to co-ordinate and improve access to, and delivery of, legal services and help to carry out need assessment, gap analysis and planning activity.
	The Commission currently records data according to 'bid zones'. 'Bid zones' are geographical areas which form the basis of contracting decisions. Information is recorded highlighting areas where a high level of need has been identified, and indicating whether the need has been met, in order to measure progress against the Commission's objective to develop effective providers operating in those categories of law where a need has been identified. In many areas, there will only be a relatively low level of need identified for specialist categories. In these areas, services are often provided by family practitioners who are authorised to carry out work in other categories under what we call 'tolerances'. The process of assessing priority is a key responsibility of CLSPs.

Consolidated Fund

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, on how many occasions sums in excess of £10 million were erroneously paid by the Local Chancellor's Department into the Consolidated Fund in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: No individual payments in excess of £10 million have been made by the Lord Chancellor's Department into the Consolidated Fund in error in the last 12 months. The Department secured a short surrender of £12,002,137 from the Consolidated Fund to recover moneys wrongly paid into the fund, due to an error in the accounting processes employed by the magistrates courts during the 2000–01 financial year. The mistakes were detected by internal controls and action has been taken to tighten procedures and to ensure that the mistakes are not repeated. None of the individual payments was for £10 million or more, and the funds were recovered from the Consolidated Fund by short surrender.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many people were employed in her Department in each of the last four years.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 256W, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office.

Judicial Appointments

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps the Lord Chancellor will take to increase the number of women appointed to the judiciary.

Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor appoints to judicial office exclusively on merit. The number of women holding judicial office substantially reflects the number of women practitioners in the legal profession with the appropriate period of experience which is usually not less than 20 years. The Lord Chancellor has already introduced a number of initiatives to encourage greater numbers to apply for judicial office and to secure equality of opportunity in the appointments process. For example, he has made information about the appointments procedures widely available; he applies the procedures flexibly in relation to the age and sitting arrangements; he has introduced a work shadowing scheme; he has reviewed the detailed criteria for appointment against which assessments of suitability are made; he is piloting a scheme to encourage applications from those who may think that their career progress to date understates their judicial potential; and has appointed a Commissioner for Judicial Appointments to audit and make recommendations about the appointments procedures and handle complaints. Preparatory work for a pilot assessment centre has begun with a view to running the pilot in 2002. A video about the appointments process will be completed soon. These efforts will continue and be developed with a view to progressive increases in the numbers of women appointed.

Judicial Appointments

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans she has for part-time, permanent judicial appointments.

Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor decided that the facility for salaried part-time working should be piloted in the most recent competition for district judge appointments as part of his policy to promote equality of opportunity for judicial appointments. Following the outcome of this pilot, the Lord Chancellor has decided that the facility may be extended to future competitions for appointments to certain other judicial posts.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, "Winning the Generation Game", (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, at column 335.

Departmental Expenditure Limit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment she has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 2000–01, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn, for Vote V, Lord Chancellor's and Law Officers' Departments, subcategories (a) 1 Lord Chancellor's Department and (b) 6 HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: (a) An analysis of significant discrepancies between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and the actual outturn will be published shortly in the Department's Resource Account.
	(b) I understand from my right hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General that the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit for Vote V Class 6: HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor and the provisional outturn shown in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn results from Appropriations in Aid which were higher than the sum originally estimated. This followed improvements in debt recovery processes in the Treasury Solicitor's Department which resulted in speedier payment of bills for legal services provided to client Departments.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Head Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new head teachers were appointed between September 1999 and July 2000 (a) in total and (b) by ethnic grouping.

Stephen Timms: The estimate of new head teachers appointed to posts in the maintained schools sector in England between March 1999 and March 2000 was 2,330 (provisional).
	The number of head teachers appointed by ethnic origin is not collected centrally.

Head Teachers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many head teachers have left the profession since 1997.

Stephen Timms: Head teachers who are no longer in service as heads in the maintained schools sector in England since 1997 are given in the table. The numbers include teachers who are still in service but are not serving as heads.
	
		
			   Heads leaving in year prior to March 1998 Heads leaving in year prior to March 1999 
		
		
			 Retired 1,980 850 
			 Left service for reasons other than retirement 440 640 
			 In service in maintained sector but not as a head 620 1,050 
			  
			 Total wastage 3,040 2,550 
		
	
	The most recent reliable data available are for March 1999.
	Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not appear to be the addition of the component parts because of rounding.
	Some teachers who have left service will return after a career break.

Head Teachers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special school heads have left the profession in the past three years.

Stephen Timms: The head teachers who have left service as heads in the maintained special schools sector in England in the last three years are given in the table. These include teachers who are still in service but are not serving as heads.
	
		
			  Heads leaving in year prior to March 1997 Heads leaving in year prior to March 1998 Heads leaving in year prior to March 1999 
		
		
			 Retired 110 100 50 
			 Left service for reasons other than retirement 20 30 30 
			 In service in maintained sector but not as a head 40 40 50 
			 Changed phase, still a head in the maintained sector (25)— 10 10 
			  
			 Total wastage 170 180 150 
		
	
	(25) Less than five teachers
	The most recent reliable data available are for March 1999.
	Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not appear to be the addition of the component parts because of rounding.
	Some teachers who have left service will return after a career break.

Teachers (Offences)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many teachers were convicted of offences committed on school premises in (a) 1990, (b) 1995 and (c) 2000;
	(2)  how many teachers were subject to criminal investigations as a result of incidents in schools in (a) 1990, (b) 1995 and (c) 2000.

Stephen Timms: The information is not collected centrally.

Supply Teachers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many supply teachers are working in Buckinghamshire; and what percentage supply teachers comprise of the total number of teachers in Buckinghamshire expressed as full-time equivalents.

Stephen Timms: 120 occasional teachers on contracts of less than one month were employed in maintained schools in Buckinghamshire for the whole of 18 January 2001, the date of the annual census of teachers in service. That was 2.9 per cent. of the full-time equivalent of regular and occasional teachers working in maintained schools in Buckinghamshire on that day.

Supply Teachers

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many supply teachers are working in each local education authority area; and what percentage supply teachers comprise of the total number of teachers in each local education authority, expressed as full time equivalents.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 16 December 2001
	The numbers of teachers on contracts of less than one month 1 (occasional teachers), employed for the whole day in the maintained schools sector on the 18 January 2001, the date of the annual census of teachers in service, and expressed as percentages of the full-time equivalent of regular and occasional teachers, were as follows:
	
		
			   Occasional teachers Occasional as percentage of all 
		
		
			 Darlington 50 6.5 
			 Hartlepool 30 3.6 
			 Middlesbrough 60 4.2 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 40 3.2 
			 Stockton on Tees 130 6.9 
			 Durham 270 6.0 
			 Northumberland 190 6.8 
			 Gateshead 130 7.3 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 120 5.3 
			 North Tyneside 100 5.3 
			 South Tyneside 80 5.0 
			 Sunderland 80 2.9 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 80 5.5 
			 Blackpool 100 8.6 
			 Halton 60 4.9 
			 Warrington 60 3.4 
			 Cheshire 170 3.0 
			 Cumbria 180 4.0 
			 Bolton 140 5.3 
			 Bury 100 6.1 
			 Manchester 240 6.0 
			 Oldham 30 1.4 
			 Rochdale 130 6.6 
			 Salford 100 5.0 
			 Stockport 120 4.9 
			 Tameside 80 4.2 
			 Trafford 100 4.9 
			 Wigan 170 6.2 
			 Lancashire 340 3.3 
			 Knowsley 40 2.8 
			 Liverpool 130 2.9 
			 St. Helens 60 3.5 
			 Sefton 150 5.3 
			 Wirral 170 5.3 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 140 5.2 
			 City of Kingston upon Hull 180 8.0 
			 North East Lincolnshire 80 5.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 70 5.2 
			 York 100 6.5 
			 North Yorkshire 270 5.1 
			 Barnsley 140 7.9 
			 Doncaster 100 3.6 
			 Rotherham 140 5.3 
			 Sheffield 210 4.7 
			 Bradford 310 6.6 
			 Calderdale 80 4.2 
			 Kirklees 130 3.7 
			 Leeds 240 3.8 
			 Wakefield 140 4.9 
			 Derby (27)— 0.1 
			 Leicester 150 5.1 
			 Nottingham 130 5.6 
			 Rutland 30 10.0 
			 Derbyshire 260 4.3 
			 Leicestershire 180 3.5 
			 Lincolnshire 230 4.1 
			 Northamptonshire 190 3.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 280 4.5 
			 Herefordshire 60 4.3 
			 Stoke on Trent 130 6.2 
			 Telford and Wrekin 90 5.8 
			 Shropshire 100 4.6 
			 Staffordshire 320 4.4 
			 Warwickshire 130 2.9 
			 Birmingham 300 2.8 
			 Coventry 110 3.6 
			 Dudley 120 4.2 
			 Sandwell 90 3.4 
			 Solihull 80 3.9 
			 Walsall 80 3.1 
			 Wolverhampton 150 6.0 
			 Worcestershire 160 3.5 
			 Luton 420 20.2 
			 Peterborough 90 5.6 
			 Southend on Sea 60 4.0 
			 Thurrock 60 4.6 
			 Bedfordshire 130 3.7 
			 Cambridgeshire 90 2.1 
			 Essex 480 4.3 
			 Hertfordshire 120 1.3 
			 Norfolk 220 3.4 
			 Suffolk 240 4.2 
			 Camden 70 4.5 
			 City of London (27)— 4.5 
			 Hackney 230 13.5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 230 18.6 
			 Haringey 100 5.3 
			 Islington 120 8.4 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 60 8.8 
			 Lambeth 50 3.3 
			 Lewisham 100 4.7 
			 Newham 230 8.7 
			 Southwark 120 5.8 
			 Tower Hamlets 220 9.2 
			 Wandsworth 50 3.0 
			 City of Westminster 80 6.1 
			 Barking and Dagenham 110 6.9 
			 Barnet 100 3.5 
			 Bexley 110 5.0 
			 Brent 100 4.7 
			 Bromley 110 4.2 
			 Croydon 190 6.4 
			 Ealing 100 4.1 
			 Enfield 140 5.0 
			 Greenwich 100 4.7 
			 Harrow 120 7.3 
			 Havering 90 4.4 
			 Hillingdon 90 3.9 
			 Hounslow 50 2.5 
			 Kingston upon Thames 60 5.1 
			 Merton 60 4.5 
			 Redbridge 60 2.6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 110 9.4 
			 Sutton 40 2.6 
			 Waltham Forest 40 1.9 
			 Bracknell Forest 40 4.5 
			 Brighton and Hove 60 3.3 
			 Isle of Wight 60 5.1 
			 Medway 130 5.7 
			 Milton Keynes 80 4.5 
			 Portsmouth 70 4.5 
			 Reading 60 5.3 
			 Slough 60 5.3 
			 Southampton 100 5.7 
			 West Berkshire 30 1.9 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 20 1.7 
			 Wokingham 40 2.7 
			 Buckinghamshire 120 2.9 
			 East Sussex 150 4.0 
			 Hampshire 520 5.5 
			 Kent 470 4.0 
			 Oxfordshire 130 2.6 
			 Surrey 260 3.4 
			 West Sussex 210 3.6 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 60 3.8 
			 Bournemouth 80 6.3 
			 City of Bristol 150 5.1 
			 North Somerset 70 4.6 
			 Plymouth 170 7.1 
			 Poole 30 2.6 
			 South Gloucestershire 130 5.7 
			 Swindon 50 3.5 
			 Torbay 60 5.4 
			 Cornwall 250 6.2 
			 Isles of Scilly (27)— 4.5 
			 Devon 270 5.1 
			 Dorset 100 3.4 
			 Gloucestershire 130 2.7 
			 Somerset 330 8.1 
			 Wiltshire 120 3.5 
			  
			 England 19,590 4.6 
		
	
	(26) Numbers of occasional teachers are rounded to the nearest ten. The total may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts due to rounding.
	(27) Less than 5.

Supply Teachers

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will take steps to eliminate the differences in rates of pay per hour for supply teachers working for Cumbria LEA and those employed by Lancashire LEA; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Supply teachers employed by an LEA or by the governing body of a maintained school must be paid under the provisions of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document. The document provides that teachers employed on a short notice basis should be paid a proportion of the remuneration that would be appropriate if they were employed full-time. It is, however, for the individual employer to determine what that proportion should be on the basis of the number of hours worked in the day. An interpretation of how to calculate the appropriate proportion and hours worked per day could differ between two authorities. I am content to allow this flexibility of interpretation to remain.

Teachers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in Buckinghamshire schools left the profession before retirement age in each year since 1992.

Stephen Timms: Numbers of qualified teachers who have left full or part time regular service in the maintained schools sector in England since 1992, who were under 60 and who were teaching in Buckinghamshire at the time of leaving are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year of leaving Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes "Old" Buckinghamshire(28) 
		
		
			 1991–92 — — 650 
			 1992–93 — — 540 
			 1993–94 — — 440 
			 1994–95 — — 400 
			 1995–96 — — 510 
			 1996–97 — — 500 
			 1997–98 — — 560 
			 1998–99 320 170 490 
			 1999–2000(29) 310 160 470 
		
	
	(28) Buckinghamshire LEA was split into Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes LEAs as a result of local government reorganisation in 1998.
	(29) The most recent year for which data are available is 1999–2000. These data are still provisional.
	Notes:
	1. The figures exclude 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers not included on the teacher pension scheme records.
	2. Some teachers who left service will return after a career break.
	3. Leavers include teachers who moved to teach in other countries, or the independent or F/HE sectors, those who were not teaching and not receiving a pension, and those who had left with premature, ill health or actuarially reduced pensions.

Teachers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual average staff turnover has been in secondary schools in the last five academic years.

Stephen Timms: Turnover data are not available for academic years.
	The annual average staff turnover of full and part time regular teachers in maintained secondary schools in England in the last five financial years for which data are available are as follows:
	
		Percentage 
		
			 Year Turnover(30) 
		
		
			 1995–96 15.9 
			 1996–97 16.5 
			 1997–98 18.2 
			 1998–99 15.5 
			 1999–2000(31) 15.9 
		
	
	(30) Turnover includes teachers leaving regular service in the English maintained sector and changing schools within the maintained sector. Employers do not always notify details of a teacher moving between schools in their employment and so the overall level of turnover quoted is lower than the true level, which is not known.
	(31) 1999–2000 data are provisional.
	Note:
	The figures exclude 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers not included on the teacher pension scheme records.

Teachers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual average staff turnover has been in primary schools in the last five academic years.

Stephen Timms: Turnover data are not available for academic years.
	The annual average staff turnover of full and part-time regular teachers in maintained nursery/primary schools in England in the last five financial years for which data are available are as follows:
	
		Percentage 
		
			  Turnover(32) 
		
		
			 1995–96 14.1 
			 1996–97 13.8 
			 1997–98 15.2 
			 1998–99 13.3 
			 1999–2000(33) 14.2 
		
	
	(32) Turnover includes teachers leaving regular service in the English maintained sector and changing schools within the maintained sector. Employers do not always notify details of a teacher moving between schools in their employment and so the overall level of turnover quoted is lower than the true level, which is not known.
	(33) 1999–2000 data are provisional.
	The figures exclude 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers not included on the teacher pension scheme records.

Teachers

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many newly qualified teachers who began work in London and the South East have left the profession within the five years since 1997.

Stephen Timms: Teachers who gained their teaching qualification in England; were in full or part-time regular service in the maintained schools sector in London or the south-east in March of the year after they qualified; and who were not in service in the maintained schools sector in England five years later, are as follows:
	
		
			 Year of qualification/ Not in service in the maintained sector in England five years after first service  
			 not in service at Number Percentage 
		
		
			 1991   
			 March 1997 1,230 29 
			 1992   
			 March 1998 1,510 31 
			 1993   
			 March 1999 1,610 30 
			 1994   
			 March 2000(34) 1,860 32 
		
	
	(34) The most recent year for which data are available is 1999–2000. These data are still provisional.
	The figures exclude 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers not included on the teacher pension scheme records.
	Some teachers who leave service will return after a career break.
	Leavers include teachers who moved to teach in other countries, or the independent or FE/HE sectors, those who were not teaching and not receiving a pension, and those who had left with premature, ill health or actuarially reduced pensions.

Teachers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teacher vacancies there are at each (a) primary and (b) secondary school in the Portsmouth, South constituency.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the form requested.
	The numbers of full-time vacancies for teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in Portsmouth local authority in January 2001 were as follows:
	
		
			   Number of vacancies 
		
		
			 Nursery and primary 20 
			 Secondary 36

Teachers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers working in the Buckingham constituency took early retirement under (a) premature and (b) ill-health retirement arrangements in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available in the form requested. The numbers of teachers from the maintained schools sector in Buckinghamshire local education authority, who took premature or ill-health retirement, were as follows.
	
		
			   1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01(35) 
		
		
			 Premature 149 58 37 32 
			 Ill-health 23 14 14 10 
		
	
	(35) Provisional data
	Note:
	There were no teachers who took actuarially reduced pensions

Teachers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many days on average were lost per teacher due to sickness in each of the last five years (a) nationally and (b) in the Buckingham constituency.

Stephen Timms: Information for the Buckingham constituency is not collected centrally.
	The average number of days of sickness absence taken per teacher in the maintained schools sector in calendar years 1999 and 2000, in the Buckinghamshire local authority area and England were, as follows:
	
		
			   1999 2000 
		
		
			 Buckinghamshire 4 5 
			 England(36) 5 5 
		
	
	(36) England figures have been estimated to allow for local authorities that did not make a return. Teacher sickness absence data was not collected centrally before calendar year 1999.

Teachers (Assaults)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers were subject to violent assaults in schools in the last year for which records are available.

Stephen Timms: The information is not collected centrally. However, the number of injuries to teachers involving acts of assault or violence in England, Wales, and Scotland reported to the Health and Safety Executive in 2000–01 was 166.

Teachers (Assaults)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers were assaulted by (a) pupils and (b) parents in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997; and in how many cases a conviction was obtained.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not hold these data. Buckinghamshire local education authority has informed us that, from 1998 to 31 July 2001, there were 552 assaults on teachers in the county. 541 were by pupils, the majority by pupils in special schools. Eleven were by parents and others. The authority is not aware of any convictions.

FE Teacher Shortages

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings she has had with the Association of Colleges to discuss the shortage of (a) teachers and (b) lecturers in further education.

John Healey: The Secretary of State met David Gibson from the Association of Colleges (AOC) on 14 November 2001 and also addressed the AOC Conference on 20 November. Additionally, my colleague the Minister for Lifelong Learning and I have each met twice with representatives from the AOC, on 15 June and 31 July, and 12 July and 10 October respectively.
	Discussion at these meetings covered a wide range of issues about the FE sector, including recruitment and retention difficulties in some subject areas and the initiatives that Government have introduced to attract new staff to the profession and reward and retain excellent teachers and lecturers, including the Teaching Pay Initiative, Golden Hellos, Student Loan Write Off and Training Bursaries.

School Buses

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government have taken to combat (a) bullying and (b) vandalism on school buses.

Stephen Timms: Bullying can be a serious problem in and around schools and in December 2000 we launched a new anti-bullying strategy, including a comprehensive new anti-bullying pack for schools with an accompanying video aimed at pupils. We have also required headteachers to draw up anti-bullying policies; these should be kept under regular review with Ofsted involved in carrying out inspections. Although the courts have ruled that a school's duty of care to prevent bullying applies within the school precincts, teachers could discuss bullying on school buses with escorts, the transport company and the local education authority and all three could take action when appropriate.
	Vandalism can also be a serious problem on some occasions. It is for the operators of school buses as well as the local education authority to address safety issues including the prevention of bullying or violence. The DTLR has recently published "The School Run" training programme for bus drivers (February 2001), designed to help improve the relationships between bus drivers and young people. The publication also contains "best practice" checklists for schools, bus companies and Passenger Transport Executives, and lesson material alerting children to the dangers of misbehaving on buses.

Oxford and Cambridge Universities (Admissions)

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy to require Oxford and Cambridge Universities to publish information in respect of student admissions to constituent colleges for the year 2001–02 in standardised format, indicating the number and percentage of (a) applications and (b) acceptances from (i) private schools, (ii) state selective schools, (iii) state comprehensive schools, (iv) sixth form colleges, (v) tertiary colleges and (vi) other places; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 13 December 2001
	Cambridge and Oxford Universities have published information on admissions for entry in 2001 from both the maintained and independent sector, disaggregated by college. The relevant extracts are in the table. The universities are responsible for the accuracy of this information. Further disaggregation is not held centrally.
	We recognise and welcome the efforts made by both universities to widen participation, and urge them to continue this important work.
	
		Applications and offers at Oxford University broken down by college, for 2001 admissions -- Percentage
		
			 College  Applications for maintained  Offers for maintained  
		
		
			 Balliol 49.6 (52.5) 52.7 (51.1) 
			 Brasenose 39.8 (40.0) 44.0 (41.5) 
			 Christ Church 43.0 (46.6) 38.9 (43.0) 
			 Corpus Christi 57.3 (60.0) 51.6 (55.8) 
			 Exeter 50.9 (55.7) 55.6 (53.1) 
			 Harris Manchester 100.0 (100.0) 85.7 (95.2) 
			 Hertford 69.3 (65.2) 67.2 (61.1) 
			 Jesus 66.6 (64.1) 58.3 (59.5) 
			 Keble 58.4 (60.8) 60.0 (59.7) 
			 Lady Margaret Hall 45.9 (47.3) 41.2 (45.5) 
			 Lincoln 51.5 (49.0) 57.0 (50.0) 
			 Magdalen 56.2 (53.9) 51.9 (49.1) 
			 Mansfield 71.4 (66.1) 67.1 (68.3) 
			 Merton 61.0 (65.0) 53.6 (56.1) 
			 New 54.0 (54.1) 49.1 (49.3) 
			 Oriel 46.1 (45.1) 44.6 (42.6) 
			 Pembroke 45.0 (43.6) 54.5 (47.5) 
			 Queen's 49.5 (53.1) 56.8 (56.4) 
			 St. Anne's 53.0 (54.2) 60.7 (56.6) 
			 St. Catherine's 58.9 (60.0) 57.1 (56.8) 
			 St. Edmund Hall 40.1 (42.4) 48.5 (44.8) 
			 St. Hilda's 62 (60.5) 59.8 (57.2) 
			 St. Hugh's 62.9 (59.8) 63.9 (54.3) 
			 St. John's 67.0 (65.6) 66.4 (64.3) 
			 St. Peter's 49.6 (46.9) 52.8 (50.0) 
			 Somerville 54.6 (55.1) 61.3 (57.6) 
			 Trinity 47.1 (42.7) 53.6 (46.6) 
			 University 45.5 (48.7) 42.6 (45.8) 
			 Wadham 71.2 (71.1) 67.5 (65.5) 
			 Worcester 40.9 (40.0) 47.8 (44.0) 
		
	
	Note:
	A three-year average from 1999–01 is shown in brackets
	
		University of Cambridge -- Applications and acceptances by college—2001
		
			 College  Applications for 2001(37)  Acceptances in 2001(37)  
		
		
			 Christ's 58 (55) 51 (37) 
			 Churchill 68 (75) 58 (68) 
			 Clare 65 (56) 59 (55) 
			 Corpus Christi 56 (49) 53 (39) 
			 Downing 47 (51) 46 (41) 
			 Emmanuel 59 (61) 53 (54) 
			 Fitzwilliam 68 (71) 60 (66) 
			 Girton 62 (61) 58 (61) 
			 Gonville and Caius 46 (48) 36 (48) 
			 Jesus 53 (57) 56 (54) 
			 King's 85 (84) 78 (77) 
			 Magdalene 42 (42) 44 (36) 
			 New Hall 58 (59) 55 (58) 
			 Newnham 64 (58) 59 (49) 
			 Pembroke 57 (55) 50 (50) 
			 Peterhouse 45 (52) 43 (43) 
			 Queens' 60 (60) 53 (55) 
			 Robinson 64 (65) 64 (56) 
			 Selwyn 54 (58) 48 (49) 
			 Sidney Sussex 58 (55) 52 (45) 
			 St. Catharine's 52 (58) 51 (52) 
			 St. John's 55 (52) 49 (45) 
			 Trinity 52 (56) 45 (48) 
			 Trinity Hall 53 (55) 50 (47) 
			 All standard Colleges 58 (59) 53 (52) 
		
	
	(37) Maintained percentage
	Note:
	Figures in brackets are for last year

Social Deprivation

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will publish comparisons of academic results between schools with equivalently socially deprived catchment areas.

Stephen Timms: Benchmark information based on national pupil performance in maintained, mainstream schools is published annually in the Department's autumn package. The benchmark data enable schools to compare their performance with other schools grouped according to one measure of social disadvantage, that is, the percentage of children known to be eligible for a free school meal. A copy of the autumn package has been placed in the House of Commons Library; it is also available on the Department's website.

Individual Learning Accounts

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will implement measures to ensure that industry is (a) consulted and (b) represented in attempts to replace the individual learning accounts scheme.

John Healey: Some discussions have already been held with training providers. We are now about to seek the views of a wider range of stakeholders. This will include representatives of industry and employers, both large and small. The views obtained will be an important element in designing a new ILA-style programme.

Individual Learning Accounts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she had made of the deadweight cost of individual learning accounts.

John Healey: With any universal offer deadweight will exist. Although not an exact calculation, an assessment of deadweight within the ILA programme can be based upon the evaluation evidence drawn from a series of hypothetical questions. Based on the sample selected the first stage evaluation showed that 44 per cent. of account holders said that they would have been able to pay for their course without their ILA discount.

Individual Learning Accounts

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what is the first date her Department was informed of alleged misuse of individual learning accounts.

John Healey: My Department actively engaged learning providers in the development of the individual learning accounts programme. For example, a number of seminars were held with learning providers in 2000, prior to the introduction of the national framework for individual learning accounts, and these continued into 2001. At these events providers expressed a wide range of opinions. In September 2000 James O'Brien, Managing Director, Pitman Training, wrote to Ministers to express concern that the programme was open to abuse, but also said that the cap on public support for each individual's ILA account introduced to help control such abuse had been set at too low a level. This is the earliest correspondence we have traced on the specific topic of potential misuse of the ILA scheme.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many learning providers were registered with the individual learning accounts centre on 27 November.

John Healey: holding answer 17 December 2001
	When the individual learning account programme closed on 23 November 2001, there were 8,900 learning providers registered with the ILA centre.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 814W, on individual learning accounts, by whom it is not expected that the Department should offer financial advice.

John Healey: It is not expected within the design or operation of the ILA programme that the Department should provide financial advice to any firm that considered participating in the ILA programme or that was affected by its closure.

Individual Learning Accounts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when pending ILA applicants will be validated so that training providers can be paid outstanding money.

John Healey: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Officials have, as a matter of priority, been working to validate outstanding claims for payment to learning providers. I can confirm that we will be making payments this week to almost 1,400 providers who had submitted claims up to 21 November. There are, however, a smaller number of claims from around 140 providers, in some cases for significant amounts, on which we need to carry out further checks before payments can be cleared. Officials will be writing this week to all providers whose claims were outstanding up to 21 November to explain the general arrangements for taking forward the processing of existing and future claims.
	We are also continuing to work on validating claims made between 21 and 23 November and on dealing with learning booked on the ILA system up to its closure on 23 November. Once we are satisfied that eligible learning has taken place in accordance with the rules of the programme, we will be able to arrange payments to all providers who are not currently subject to investigation, provided that this status does not change following the analysis of recent complaints received.

Individual Learning Accounts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what checks were carried out to prevent multiple ILA applications from single addresses.

John Healey: holding answer 18 December 2001
	A full common address trawl of the ILA system has been carried out to identify multiple individual applications at the same address. This led to investigations by the Department into 41 providers. As a result 15 providers were suspended from the register of learning providers eligible to receive funds from the ILA programme. Investigations are continuing.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the statement of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for adult skills the hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) of 11 December 2001, Official Report, Westminster Hall, columns 218–224WH, on individual learning accounts, what the budget was for ILA by March 2002; and how many of the accounts were budgeted to be used.

John Healey: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The total budget available in England over the two years 2000–01 and 2001–02 is £202.1 million, which includes £115.1 million which has been recycled from TEC resources. The aim was to have 1 million ILAs opened by March 2002. No precise number was set for ILAs budgeted to be used, as the ILA programme was an entirely new and innovative programme for which take-up could not accurately be predicted in its early years.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 813W, on individual learning accounts, whether there were constraints upon the absolute exercise of the Secretary of State's discretion; and whether the power of the Secretary of State to close down the learning account scheme immediately and without notice was publicised to (a) learning account holders and (b) learning account providers.

John Healey: The only constraints on the absolute exercise of the Secretary of State's discretion would be where this was inconsistent with natural justice.
	The Secretary of State and I took the decision to shut down the programme with immediate effect from 6.30pm on 23 November. That decision was taken to minimise a serious risk to public funds. Under these circumstances, there was no time to notify providers or account holders in advance.
	The shutdown meant that neither the ILA account holders database nor the ILA learning providers database was available to us. However, we issued a press statement on 23 November and provided notification of the shut down-on both the Department and Capita websites which we updated as new information became available. We were also able to resume the operation of the ILA helpline for account holders, on a limited basis, on 27 November.
	All learning providers were notified by letter on 29 November.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 814W, on individual learning accounts, if she will give reasons for not offering compensation in the circumstances described.

John Healey: The purpose of the ILA scheme was not to give people rights to money but to encourage them to undertake learning.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether her Department has contacted the Data Protection Registrar about possible unauthorised access to the ILA account holders database; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Department has not contacted the Information Commissioner (previously Data Protection Registrar) concerning possible unauthorised access to the ILA account holder's database. The Department's Special Investigations Unit has been working closely with the police and where prima facie evidence of criminal activity has been found the police have been asked to take over investigations.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 813W, on individual learning accounts, if she will pay interest on sums due to learning providers but not paid on time.

John Healey: The Department has no plans to pay interest to learning providers on payments delayed because of the closure of the individual learning account programme on 23 November 2001 following evidence of serious potential fraud and theft.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to which individuals and organisations the individual learning account holders database has been available since April.

John Healey: Learners and potential learners could visit the website (www.my-ila.com) only for information purposes and to request application packs. Registered learning providers could access the database once they had been provided with a user name and password. This allowed them to register courses, book learning and to confirm learning had taken place. Learning providers could only view personal name and address details of individuals registered on courses with that learning provider. Staff in DfES had view access only. The organisation 'learndirect' had a separate although restricted access to allow them to issue application packs to inquirers.
	Selected Capita staff at the ILA centre locations in Coventry and Darlington, together with the programme development team at Trowbridge, had operational access to the database in order to administer the programme.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 813W, on individual learning accounts, if she will place in the Library a copy of the rules of the programme.

John Healey: Copies of the definition of eligible learning, the regulations and guidance and the incentives rules have been placed in the Library.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for adult skills the hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey) of 11 December 2001, Official Report, Westminster Hall, columns 218–224WH, on individual learning accounts whether the aim was that all holders should have used their accounts to embark on a course of eligible learning by March 2002.

John Healey: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Our aim was to have 1 million account holders by March 2002. By July 2001 we had 1.5 million account holders in England.

Individual Learning Accounts

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list those representations she received before 24 October on the administration of the ILA scheme, distinguishing those which identified the danger of (a) fraud and (b) financial over-run.

John Healey: holding answer 30 November 2001
	I have already announced to the House details about complaints and I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on PQ12290.
	We have received a number of representations about fraud from hon. Members, individual learning account holders and individual learning account registered learning providers. It is established practice that the Department is only expected to publish or list correspondence if it has specifically invited stakeholders to write or feedback on an issue and that the information supplied will be placed in the public domain. We have not received any representation about financial over-run.

Individual Learning Accounts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether individual learning account numbers were randomly generated.

John Healey: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Individual learning account numbers consisted of 10 digits. The first nine digits were sequential; the last digit was randomly selected.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 813W, on individual learning accounts, for what reason those account holders who had not used their accounts by 23 November cannot be subject to a validation process as a condition of being able to undertake eligible learning.

John Healey: The Individual Learning Account programme was closed on 23 November as a result of evidence of serious potential fraud and theft. That decision was taken to minimise a serious risk to public funds. However, subject to new validation arrangements, all eligible learning booked onto the ILA system before 6.30 pm on 23 November will be honoured.
	The programme is now closed to the further booking of learning by ILA account holders and learning providers. Account holders who did not have their learning booked onto the ILA system by 23 November will not be able to benefit from a discount on the cost of their learning.

Individual Learning Accounts

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by what means the Government intend to enable genuine learning providers to access moneys that have been diverted to bogus learning providers.

John Healey: The ILA programme was shut down on 23 November and closed to the further booking of learning by learning providers. Officials are setting up, as a matter of priority, arrangements to validate outstanding payments and claims for payment from learning providers so that the majority of providers, who have acted honestly throughout, can be paid as quickly as possible. We will pay for eligible learning that has already taken place and for learning that is already booked on the ILA Centre's system, providing we are satisfied that eligible learning is undertaken, in accordance with the rules of the programme. Learning which was not booked onto the ILA system before the programme was shut down will not benefit from an ILA discount.
	The overall purpose of ILAs was to help people overcome the financial barriers to learning by helping with the costs. The incentives and discounts were placed in the hands of the individual as they are best placed to choose learning that is most beneficial to their training needs. Some learning providers will, as a result, have received an increase in their business because of ILAs. However, learning providers can only access moneys if an account holder has decided to use their ILA to help pay for learning at their establishment.
	The Department has already been successful in reclaiming public funds and is actively working with other partner organisations including the police to recover funds wherever possible.

Individual Learning Accounts

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many holders of individual learning accounts have complained to her Department about their account being been used without their authority.

John Healey: holding answer 17 December 2001
	As at 30 November 5,732 complaints had been received from individuals about ILA incentives taken without their knowledge, out of over 2.6 million account holders.

Specialist Schools

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will permit clusters of schools to apply jointly for specialist school status.

Stephen Timms: The published assessment criteria for each specialism permit joint specialist school applications involving two schools. The criteria also allow for collaborative approaches involving associated applications. Arrangements for associated applications involve a group of schools making solo applications or a combination of solo and joint applications, across a range of specialisms as part of a strategic approach to specialist school provision across an area. Each application succeeds or fails on its own merits.

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she has collated on the targets agreed by specialist schools consequent on that status and their success in achieving them.

Stephen Timms: Information on the specialist school targets agreed by individual arts, language, technology and sports colleges is not collated but is contained in the development plans and progress reports of each of the 685 specialist schools. These plans and progress reports are retained on individual school files and used in the assessment process for redesignation. Typically, the four-year development plans of an applicant school set between 100 and 400 targets, which focus on a range of school and community strands.

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she collates on the success of specialist schools in achieving targets agreed consequent on their status.

Stephen Timms: Specialist schools are required to provide annual reports of the progress they have made in implementing their development plans. Information on the achievement of the targets set in the plans is taken into account alongside a new development plan when they seek redesignation as specialist schools.

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will seek a report from HM Chief Inspector of Schools on the level of success of specialist schools in achieving targets consequent on that status.

Stephen Timms: As part of Ofsted's survey of specialist schools, published in October, HMI assessed the progress of schools visited in relation to their targets in order to examine the impact of the programme on attainment and the quality of provision in designated schools; to evaluate how specialist schools were managing their role and to illustrate good practice. The first main finding in the report confirms that four out of five specialist schools covered by the survey
	"are in large measure achieving the aims of the specialist schools programme and making good use of the advantages it brings". We believe Ofsted's report will help all specialist schools sustain and accelerate their achievements and see no need at present to commission another survey. However, we do continually review the need for evaluation evidence about the progress of specialist schools in meeting their targets, including the information my Department requests of them in their annual reports.

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list for each specialist school (a) the names of sponsors, (b) the amount of money contributed in aggregate by external sponsors and (c) the additional resources contributed by her Department.

Stephen Timms: A list of the names of sponsors of each specialist school can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The aggregate contribution of external sponsorship to specialist schools to date is at least £58 million. The additional resources provided for the specialist schools programme by this Department from the academic year 1994–95 to the academic year 2000–01 inclusive is £245 million.

Education Action Zones

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the performance of schools within education action zones.

Stephen Timms: The performance of schools in education action zones continues to improve. They are making useful contributions to raising standards and are closing the gap with national achievements. The most significant impact is being made by primary schools where achievement continues to rise faster than the national rate.

Examination Results (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the proportion of pupils achieving (a) one or more A to C and (b) five or more A to C GCSE grades was (i) nationally and (ii) from schools based in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The proportion of 15-year-old pupils achieving (a) one or more A* to C and (b) five or more A* to C GCSE grades in England and the Buckingham constituency since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			  Academic year  
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 England—percentage achieving  
			 One or more grades A*-C 70.5 71.4 72.6 73.6 74.0 
			 Five or more grades A*-C 45.1 46.3 47.9 49.2 50.0 
			   
			 Buckingham—percentage achieving  
			 One or more grades A*-C 77.1 82.0 81.8 80.2 82.2 
			 Five or more grades A*-C 54.1 54.4 57.7 56.0 60.6

Pupil Absences

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many unauthorised absences there were from schools (a) nationally and (b) in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The numbers and percentages of half days missed due to unauthorised absences in maintained primary and secondary schools in England and the Buckingham constituency since 1997 are:
	
		
			   England  Buckingham  
			  Primary Secondary Primary Secondary 
			 Year Number Percentage Number  Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 1996–97 5,214,716 0.5 8,464,617 1.0 1,265 0.1 1,589 0.2 
			 1997–98 5,436,843 0.5 9,111,510 1.1 1,766 0.1 2,703 0.3 
			 1998–99 5,575,015 0.5 9,395,441 1.1 874 0.0 2,288 0.3 
			 1999–2000 5,228,644 0.5 9,165,319 1.0 885 0.0 5,210 0.5 
			 2000–01 5,356,096 0.5 9,430,735 1.1 1,856 0.1 5,963 0.6

School Computers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average number of pupils per computer was in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available centrally.
	Information for England for 1998–2001 was published in Statistical Bulletin 09/01 "Survey of Information and Communications Technology in Schools 2001", which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics and from the Library. Information for England is derived from a sample of schools, which is too small to produce reliable information for sub-national areas.

Muslim Teachers

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of female (i) primary and (ii) secondary school teachers who are Muslims.

Stephen Timms: The information is not collected centrally.

Teachers (Work Load)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she plans to take to reduce the time teachers spend on administration.

Stephen Timms: My Department keeps administrative requirements on all schools under continuous review. We have taken a number of actions to reduce the burdens on schools, including simplifying the Standards Fund, providing extra funding for small schools to meet proportionately higher administrative costs and to encourage the development of collaborative approaches to reducing burdens, such as shared ICT technicians, and actively screening all mailings to schools. In addition, in the school year 2000–01, we achieved a significant reduction in the number of pages sent to schools by the Department.
	We recognise that there is more to be done to make teaching a more manageable profession. The PricewaterhouseCoopers study of teacher work load, published on 5 December 2001, has put forward further practical ways of addressing work load issues, which the Department and other stakeholders are considering.

School Partnerships

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which grammar/non-selective school partnerships are in receipt of financial support from her Department; and how much support and what the nature of the partnership is in each case.

Stephen Timms: We have allocated £505,616 to 28 partnerships for the 2001–02 school year. Detailed information on the successful partnerships have been placed in the Libraries.

Standards Fund

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will announce next year's Standards Fund allocation to local education authorities; and what the increase in the Standards Fund will be.

Stephen Timms: Information on the Standards Fund programme for 2002–03 was issued to local education authorities on 28 September in the form of a circular from the Department for Education and Skills. A copy of the circular has been placed in the Library. Allocations for most of the grants supported under the Standards Fund were notified to local education authorities by the end of November. Allocations for some grants remain to be issued as they are based on information not yet available. The total expenditure to be supported through the Standards Fund in 2002–03 will be £3.6 billion, compared to £3.1 billion in 2001–02. The totals include both Government grant and local education authority contributions.

Special Educational Needs Tribunal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases set down for a hearing in the Special Educational Needs Tribunal in the latest year for which figures are available were (a) abandoned at the instigation of the local education authority, (b) abandoned at the request of parents, (c) determined in favour of the local education authority and (d) determined (i) in whole and (ii) in part in favour of parents.

Ivan Lewis: The following information gives a breakdown of appeals for 1 September 2000 to 1 August 2001. It gives the number of appeals abandoned at the request of the local education authority and at the request of the parent. The tribunal does not collect information about the outcome of appeals in the format requested. However, information about the number of appeals upheld or partially upheld is available and a table providing this information is also included. A case is listed as "upheld" when any of the points at issue are decided in the parents' favour.
	SEN Tribunal
	Breakdown of appeals information 1 September 2000 to 31 August 2001
	Total number of Registrations: 2,728
	Total number of Decisions: 1,206
	Total number of Withdrawals: 1,368.
	How many cases set down for hearing in SENT in the latest year were:
	(a) abandoned at the instigation of the LEA
	Of the total number of withdrawals last year, 699 appeals were withdrawn because the LEA had fully complied with the appeal and therefore not opposed. A further 475 cases were withdrawn because the LEA had negotiated an agreement with the parents.
	(b) abandoned at the request of the parents
	Of the total number of withdrawals last year 40 related to parents changing their minds about the appeals. The remaining 154 cases were withdrawn but the Tribunal does not know the reason.
	(c), (d)(i), (ii) determined in favour of the LEA and parent in whole or in part
	The outcome of the appeals for which the Tribunal issued a decision during the year is summarised in the table:
	
		
			   Decisions issued in 2000–01  
			   Upheld(38)  Dismissed(39)  
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Total 
		
		
			 Appeals not involving contents of Statements  
			 Refusal to assess 229 67 115 33 344 
			 Refusal to statement 66 70 28 30 94 
			 Refusal to re-assess 15 65 8 35 23 
			 Cease to Maintain 13 62 8 38 21 
			  
			 Total 323 67 159 33 482 
			 Contents of Statement  
			 Parts 2 and/or 3, not 4 157 89 19 11 176 
			 Parts 2, 3 and 4 354 92 29 8 383 
			 Part 4 only 106 76 34 24 140 
			 Refusal to change school named 14 70 6 30 20 
			 Failure to name a school 4 80 1 20 5 
			  
			 Total 635 88 89 12 724 
			   
			 Total decisions issued 958 79 248 21 1,206 
		
	
	(38) Total upheld appeals includes those cases remitted to the LEA in the Refusal to Statement category
	(39) Total dismissed appeals includes strike outs

Disability Rights Commission

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administration costs of the Disability Rights Commission were in 2000–01; and what she expects them to be in 2001–02.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	In 2000–01 the administration costs of the Disability Rights Commission were £8.063 million. In 2001–2 they are expected to be £7.508 million. These figures includes staff salaries and other related expenditure such as premises and equipment.

Trailblazer Sector Skills Council

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which sectors are to be covered by a Trailblazer Sector Skills Council.

Estelle Morris: From the 31 expressions of interest received, I am pleased to announce that the following five sectors will be invited to form a Trailblazer Sector Skills Council:
	apparel, footwear and textile
	audio visual industries
	land based industries
	oil and gas extraction; petroleum refining and distribution; and chemical manufacture
	retail.
	All sectors who expressed an interest, but were unsuccessful in being awarded Trailblazer SSC status, have been offered one-to-one feedback meetings to explain reasons for the decision and to initiate a dialogue on the way forward for their sectors.

Employment and Social Policy Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the outcome was of the Employment and Social Policy Council held in Brussels on 3 December; what the Government position was on each issue discussed, including their voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions represented the UK at the Employment and Social Policy Council in Brussels on 3 December, together with the Minister for Employment and the Regions.
	The Council agreed parameters for the simplification of the co-ordination of social security schemes under Regulation 1408–71. The UK was able to accept the parameters, subject to detailed scrutiny, further negotiations and correction of linguistic points. The parameters will be forwarded to the Laeken European Council. The UK was also able to endorse the Council's Conclusions identifying the appropriate legal base for extending co-ordination of social security schemes to nationals of third countries.
	The Council reached political agreement on the 'Autumn Package' of Employment measures, comprising the Employment Guidelines for 2002; Recommendations on the implementation of member states' employment policies and the adoption of the Joint Employment Report for 2001: the 'package' will go to the Laeken European Council for endorsement.
	The Council adopted Conclusions on indicators on 'Quality in Work' which will be presented to the Laeken European Council, thus fulfilling the remit from the Stockholm European Council.
	The Council adopted a report on indicators of poverty and social exclusion for Laeken; a Joint Commission and Council Report on social inclusion and a joint report from the Social Protection Committee and the Economic Policy Committee on objectives and working methods in the area of pensions. All three documents will go to the Laeken European Council for adoption.
	The Council agreed a common position on amending the Insolvency (worker protection) Directive, to bring it in line with recent jurisprudence.
	The Council also agreed to adopt 2003 as the European Year of People with Disabilities.
	The Council adopted Conclusions on Structural Indicators, which will be forwarded to the General Affairs Council; indicators on the Gender pay gap, and on an EU-level mechanism to help resolve transnational employment disputes.
	The Belgian Presidency presented a progress report on a Directive on Employee Involvement in the European Co-operative. The Presidency reported progress on the Asbestos (worker protection) Directive. A common position is expected to be finalised under the forthcoming Spanish Presidency. The Council noted two Presidency reports on gender mainstreaming in Council formations and agreed a contribution to work on the Broad Economic Guidelines for 2002, to be forwarded to ECOFIN.
	The Council adopted a Resolution on the Commission's Green Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility and requested that the outcomes of the current debates at national level be incorporated in the Commission's next Communication on this subject.
	The Commission gave an overview of its Communication on increased Labour Force Participation and Active Ageing. The Commission presented its Communication on Lifelong Learning.
	No votes were taken at this Council.

New Deal (Disabled People)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the new deal for Disabled People pilot studies.

Nick Brown: I have been asked to reply.
	Evaluation has shown that the New Deal for Disabled People Personal Adviser Service and Innovative Schemes produced encouraging results.
	Pilot evaluation reports are available in the Library and on the new deal website.
	The national extension of the new deal for disabled people from 2 July 2001 was informed by the pilot evaluation reports. It too will be evaluated to find the best ways of helping disabled people find work.

Equal Opportunities Commission

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administration costs of the Equal Opportunities Commission were in 2000–01; and what she expects them to be in 2001–02.

Patricia Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
	I am replying as I am responsible for the financial arrangements of the Equal Opportunities Commission. The Commission's administration costs in 2000–01 were £6.929 million. The Commission expects their administration costs to be £6.333 million during the current financial year. Details of the Commission's expenditure are published in their combined annual report and accounts, which is available to the public.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, at column 335W.

Teachers' Qualifications

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 44W, for what reason figures have not been collected since 1996–97 on the percentage of secondary school teachers holding an appropriate subject qualification.

Stephen Timms: Surveys to collect these figures have been undertaken every four to five years. We plan to conduct another survey shortly.

Departmental Expenditure Limits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 2000–01, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 2000–01: Provisional Outturn, for Vote I, Department for Education and Employment, subcategories (a) 1 Department of Employment: programmes and central services and (b) 5 Sure Start; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: Full details of outturn against 2000–01 voted provision will be published in the appropriation accounts to be presented to the House of Commons by 31 January 2002. The departmental resource account on an accruals basis will also be presented to the House of Commons before 31 January. Updated estimates of the outturn for Departmental Expenditure Limits in 2000–01 on an accruals basis were published in the 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318), Table B16.

New Deal (Over-25s)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people were employed by her Department under the new deal for the over-25s; and at what cost to the public funds in 2001–02.

Estelle Morris: Information follows on the number of people currently employed by my Department under the new deal for over-25s. New deal recruits take up existing vacancies so extra costs are limited to the subsidy paid under the programme, where appropriate, and any additional training and development which may be needed. the cost of the latter cannot be readily identified.
	I confirm for the period 2001–02 there are currently four new deal participants aged 25 plus employed in the Department for Education and Skills. The total cost to the public purse for this period in employer subsidies is approximately £1,440.00.

New Deal (Young People)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are employed by the Department under the New Deal for Young People; and at what cost to public funds.

Estelle Morris: Information follows on the number of people currently employed by my Department under the new deal for young people. New deal recruits take up existing vacancies so extra costs are limited to the subsidy paid under the programme, where appropriate, and any additional training and development which may be needed. The cost of the latter cannot be readily identified.
	I confirm there are 14 people currently employed by the Department for Education and Skills under the new deal for young people. The cost to the public purse in employer and training subsidies is approximately £30,660.

Departmental Sickness Absence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  when she expects to reply to the Question of 5 December, ref. 21335, from the hon. Member for Buckingham on sickness absence;
	(2)  how many days were lost owing to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years.

Estelle Morris: The overall sickness absence rate in the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in each of the last four calendar years for which official figures are available was:
	
		
			  Days per staff year 
		
		
			 1999 11.0 
			 1998 11.6 
			 1997 12.6 
			 1996 11.8 
		
	
	The DfES is committed to reducing sickness absence in line with the targets agreed across Whitehall.

Civil Servants

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of each civil service grade in her Department is located in each region and nation of the UK; what the average salary is for each grade; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The total numbers and proportions of each civil service grade within the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in each region and nation of the UK are shown in table A. The average salary for each grade in DfEs by region of the UK is shown in table B.
	
		Table A: The total numbers and proportions of each civil service grade within the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in each region and nation of the UK
		
			   Number of staff by grade level and region (full-time equivalent)  
			 Government office region All grades SCS Level 6/7 SEO/HEO level EO level AO/AA level 
		
		
			 Permanent staff   
			 London 1,963 86 298 699 466 414 
			 North West 501 2 10 108 111 270 
			 North East 508 2 28 124 147 207 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,084 22 126 435 228 273 
			 Total permanent staff 4,056 112 462 1,366 952 1,164 
			
			 Casual staff   
			 London 53 — 2 2 11 38 
			 North West 29 — — 2 — 27 
			 North East 32 — — — — 32 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 54 — — — 4 50 
			 Total casual staff 168 — 2 4 15 147 
			
			 Total all staff 4,224 112 464 1,370 967 1,311 
		
	
	
		
			   Percentage of staff by grade level and region  
			 Government office region All grades SCS Level 6/7 SEO/HEO level EO level AO/AA level 
		
		
			 Permanent staff   
			 London 48 77 65 51 49 36 
			 North West 12 2 2 8 12 23 
			 North East 13 2 6 9 15 18 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 27 19 27 32 24 23 
			 Total permanent staff 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			
			 Casual staff   
			 London 32 — 100 50 73 26 
			 North West 17 — — 50 — 18 
			 North East 19 — — — — 22 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 32 — — — 27 34 
			 Total casual staff 100 — 100 100 100 100 
			
			 Total all staff 100 100 100 100 100 100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. No staff are located in other regions or nations of the UK.
	2. DfES has no industrial staff
	
		Table B: Average salary for each grade in DfES by region of the UK -- £
		
			 Government office region All grades SCS level G6/7 level SEO/HEO level EO level AO/AA level 
		
		
			 Permanent   
			 London 26,338 78,327 45,523 29,742 22,040 17,239 
			 North West 17,493 72,250 37,928 28,031 18,379 15,403 
			 North East 17,947 67,556 40,463 27,243 18,770 14,025 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 24,147 73,746 43,005 28,031 17,939 13,923 
			 All regions 24,672 75,894 44,348 28,243 21,138 16,167 
			
			 Casual   
			 London 15,790 — 41,423 23,832 18,468 15,790 
			 North West 12,720 — — 27,435 — 12,720 
			 North East 9,639 — — — — 9,639 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 12,720 — — — 15,235 12,720 
			 All regions 12,720 — 41,423 25,672 18,468 12,720

Education Maintenance Allowance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to extend the Education Maintenance Allowance pilot scheme to the constituency of Buckingham.

Ivan Lewis: We have no such plans at present. We will be taking decisions on any future extension of the scheme on the basis of the rigorous evaluation, which is currently being conducted.

GCSE (Road User Studies)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will introduce a GCSE in Road User Studies based on the GCSE run by the Northern Ireland Education Department.

Ivan Lewis: We are keen to ensure that all young people should have the opportunity to study subjects that interest them. However, we have no plans to introduce a GCSE in Road User Studies as there are other GCSE qualifications that cover elements of the subject area, for example, Design and Technology GCSE. Other vocationally related qualifications approved for use include the Motor Vehicle and Road User Studies Certificates offered by the City and Guilds of London Institute, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) and the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC). There is also the Motor Vehicle Foundation Studies Certificate offered by the Awarding Body Consortium (ABC).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the provision of emergency heating for pensioners on the waiting list for heating insulation under fuel poverty schemes.

Michael Meacher: The majority of new heating installations under the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme are now being completed within 12 weeks of the date of home survey.
	Where there is a risk of severe delay, and the householder has no form of alternative heating, the HEES scheme managers will provide portable heating appliances.
	As fuel poverty is a devolved matter, it is the responsibility of the respective Parliament and Assemblies to comment on the situation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Fuel Poverty

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made as to the number of people who would be in fuel poverty in (a) England and (b) the Isle of Wight if there were a 5 per cent. rise in fuel prices.

Brian Wilson: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy, which was published in November 2001, states that for the purposes of estimating the effects of price changes on future numbers in fuel poverty, a reasonable range of price movements by 2010 to consider would appear to be: for domestic gas pricesan increase of 15 per cent. to a fall of 10 per cent. in real terms; and for domestic electricity pricesan increase of 5 per cent. to a fall of 2 per cent. in real terms
	If electricity prices were to rise by 5 per cent. and gas prices by 15 per cent. then the number in fuel poverty in England could increase by around 0.8 million. If electricity prices fell by 2 per cent. and gas prices fell by 10 per cent. then the numbers in fuel poverty could fall by around 0.3 million. Future gas and electricity prices are uncertain and will be affected by a number of factors. It is difficult to estimate the precise impacts of price changes on the numbers in fuel poverty. The figures presented give a broad indication of the changes in fuel poverty which might be expected from the stated changes in energy prices.
	It is broadly estimated that a 5 per cent. increase in fuel prices may increase the number of households in fuel poverty in England by around 0.4 million. Data are not available to produce estimates of fuel poverty on the Isle of Wight and it is therefore not possible to estimate the impact of changes in fuel prices on fuel poverty on the Isle of Wight.

Sustainable Development Summit

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will include a representative of the Scottish Executive in the United Kingdom delegation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.

Michael Meacher: The devolved Administrations have been closely involved in the development of the UK's position on the World Summit on Sustainable Development. We will certainly want to ensure that they are represented at the Summit, but the precise composition of the UK's delegation will be a matter for the Prime Minister nearer the time.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) is the predicted and (b) was the average period between initial application for a (i) HEES and (ii) HEES Plus grant and completion of the home improvements in (A) England, (B) each English region and (C) each local authority area in each month since June 2000; and what performance targets have been set regarding waiting times for HEES customers.

Michael Meacher: The Eaga Partnership Ltd. and TXU Warm Front Ltd. manage the Home Efficiency Scheme, marketed as the Warm Front Team, under contract. The table shows the average timelines for each of the English regions since the launch of the scheme in June 2000. It is not possible to provide the further breakdown requested by the hon. Member.
	The scheme managers have a target time for completion of work following application. This is set at 40 days for insulation measures, and 120 days for heating measures. The delays experienced by householders have been due to the national shortage of gas heating engineers.
	
		Time taken from date of application to payment of grant(40)
		
			  1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 1 January 2001 to 30 June 2001 1 July 2001 to 30 November 2001 
		
		
			 HEES:
			 East 230 120 70 
			 East midlands 220 110 70 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 210 110 70 
			 North-east 220 130 70 
			 North-west 240 140 70 
			 London 230 150 90 
			 South-east 230 160 70 
			 West midlands 220 130 70 
			 South-west 230 140 60 
			 Average for England 230 130 70 
			 
			 HEES plus:
			 East 220 130 80 
			 East midlands 230 120 70 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 220 130 70 
			 North-east 240 130 70 
			 North-west 260 150 70 
			 London 260 150 80 
			 South-east 250 160 70 
			 West midlands 250 140 70 
			 South-west 260 140 60 
			 Average for England 250 140 70 
		
	
	(40) There is usually a period of one to eight weeks between the date of actual installation and the receipt of the invoice from installers.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has received from the Food Standards Agency regarding the labelling of GMOs.

Michael Meacher: The Food Standards Agency Board considered their position on the labelling of foods containing GMOs and foods produced from GMOs in a public meeting on 19 September. The minutes of this meeting and a statement by the Agency are available on their website. A copy of the statement has been placed in the Library of the House. The Board's advice, in summary, was to maintain the current labelling rules supplemented with the introduction of a provision for GM-free labelling.

Departmental Sickness Absence

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 1078W, to the right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (David Maclean).
	The Department is committed to the effective management of sickness absence, and has included targets for a reduction in days lost due to sickness in a Service Delivery Agreement (SDA).
	Responsibility for attendance matters within the Central Science Laboratory, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Agency and the Rural Payments Agencyall former MAFF Agencieshas been delegated to the Agency Chief Executives and I have asked them to reply direct. The Pesticides Safety Directorate and Veterinary Medicines Directorate Agencies are covered by the Departmental response.

Residential Gardens

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what powers local authorities can take action to deal with residential gardens which become dumping grounds for household and other rubbish; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: The illegal disposal of waste without a waste management licence or registered exemption (commonly known as fly-tipping) is a criminal offence. In the event of a conviction, severe penalties are available to the courts, including an unlimited fine or imprisonment of up to five years.
	Section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, provides the local authority or the Environment Agency with the power to effect the removal of fly-tipped waste (including that which is fly-tipped in residential gardens) and to recover costs from those responsible.

End-use Equipment

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with EU partners to reach agreement to the European Commission's proposals for a Framework Directive for Minimum Efficiency Requirements for End-Use Equipment.

Michael Meacher: The European Commission has yet to bring forward a formal proposal for a Framework Directive for Minimum Energy Efficiency Requirements for End-Use Equipment, but it has recently indicated that it should be in a position to do so early in 2002. To help ensure that work on this subject can then proceed as efficiently as possible, the Department has been working closely with other member states to identify the key issues which will need to be addressed. Such work has been advanced this year by the Market Transformation Programme Information Forum www.mtpif.com, a joint initiative between the Department and the Dutch Government, which is designed to promote the development and free exchange of policy information in this field.

Household Appliances

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with EU partners to reach agreement to complete the Review of Council Directive 92/75/EEC on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances.

Michael Meacher: The Government have actively worked with other member states to encourage the European Commission to bring forward proposals for the revision of Council Directive 92/75/EEC as soon as possible. We have pursued this in collective discussions and directly with the commission.
	To help ensure that a review can proceed as efficiently as possible, my Department has also been working closely with other members states to identify the key issues which will need to be addressed. Such work has been advanced this year by the Market Transformation Programme Information Forum www.mtpif.com, a joint initiative between the Department and the Dutch Government, which is designed to promote the development and free exchange of policy information in this field.

North Sea Conference

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Scottish Executive will be represented as part of the United Kingdom delegation at the North Sea conference in March 2002.

Michael Meacher: The Scottish Executive is contributing to preparations for the conference on issues where policy has been devolved. We are currently considering arrangements for attendance at the conference by Ministers and officials.

Low Frequency Noise

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has funded in the last five years on the prevalence and impact of low frequency noise.

Michael Meacher: We have funded the production of guidance for use by local authorities which will shortly be placed on DEFRA's website. This updates the advice provided to the Department by the Building Research Establishment in 1992.

Game Licences

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when a Minister in her Department last met the organisations listed on the reverse of the game licence.

Alun Michael: holding answer 17 December 2001
	It is intended to revise the wording of the licence as it is out of date in a number of respects.
	Currently the organisations listed on the reverse of the licence are the RSPCA, the British Field Sports Society and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. Ministers have many meetings which involve the RSPCA and the Countryside Alliance, which is the successor organisation to the British Field Sports Association. I have met both during the course of the last month. The Universities Federation for Animal welfare is a scientific and technical animal welfare organisation. It uses scientific knowledge and established expertise to improve the welfare of animals as pets, in zoos, laboratories, on farms and in the wild. There has not been a recent meeting with this organisation.

Game Licences

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the text of the game licence was written; and when it was last revised.

Alun Michael: holding answer 17 December 2001
	Game licences are issued under legislation which has roots in the 19th Century. We have tried to discover the date on which the text was written, or revised, and it has proved difficult. The last changes were made in the 1970s.

Correspondence

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many items of correspondence from hon. Members addressed to her, which were received by her Department between (a) 7 June and 31 July, (b) 1 August and 31 August and (c) 1 September and 30 September, remain unanswered.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 20 November 2001
	Between (a) 7 June and 31 July, 1,311 were received and 607 remain unanswered.
	Between (b) 1 August and 31 August 1,078 were received and 592 remain unanswered.
	Between (c) 1 September and 30 September 941 were received and 449 remain unanswered.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all Members of Parliament on 14 November explaining the scale of the current problems faced by the Correspondence Section and setting out the mechanisms put in place to overcome these problems.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive a substantive reply to his question, tabled on 19 November, ref 16824, concerning Dr. Reza Hossam of St. John's Hospital, Chelmsford;
	(2)  when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will be given a reply to his letter of 12 June to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which was transferred to her Department on 18 June concerning Dr. Reza Hossam of St. John's Hospital, Chelmsford.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 November 2001
	Unfortunately, we have no record of your letter of 12 June concerning Dr. Reza Hossam on our correspondence database.

Hunting

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list meetings held by (a) Ministers and (b) officials with (i) pro-hunt organisations, (ii) anti-hunt organisations and (iii) other organisations as part of the consultation on the resumption of hunting after the end of the foot and mouth outbreak.

Alun Michael: holding answer 17 December 2001
	During the consultation period, I met the following:
	(i) on the pro-hunt side:
	the Countryside Alliance including representatives of the Master of Fox Hounds Association and The Campaign for Hunting; and
	(ii) on the anti-hunt side:
	the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals which incorporated representatives from the RSPCA, League against Cruel Sports and International Fund for Animal Welfare.
	In addition, officials met the English and Welsh Farmers Fox Control Associations; the National Coursing Club; Council of Hunting Associations; the Federation of Welsh Packs; and the Countryside Alliance.

Nitrates Directive

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made in meeting the United Kingdom's legal obligations to implement the 1991 Nitrates Directive.

Margaret Beckett: Following the decision by the European Court of Justice that the United Kingdom has failed to comply with the Nitrates Directive, I will be issuing a consultation document to key organisations very shortly, setting out the proposals for implementing the Nitrates Directive in England. The consultation will get under way in earnest in the new year, when a summary version of the consultation document will be sent to all farmers in England seeking their views on implementation options. The consultation document includes an outline of the help available from DEFRA for farmers to meet the cost of compliance.

Food Labelling

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to require (a) restaurants and (b) fast-food outlets to disclose the country of origin of the meat in the meals which they serve.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	We have no plans to require this information to be given either in restaurants or fast-food outlets.
	However, the Food Standards Agency has recently reviewed the advice produced by the Government last year on the interpretation of existing rules on misleading labelling and country of origin. The review aims to ensure this advice addresses the issues that are of most concern to consumers and encourage increased voluntary declarations. The FSA's draft advice has been issued for public consultation and makes clear that, in catering establishments, care should be taken to ensure the wording of any origin information on menus etc. is clear and unambiguous.

Biosecurity (Rights of Way)

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice her Department has issued for footpath users when footpaths cross fields and farmyards covered by biosecurity recommendations.

Alun Michael: With the improving foot and mouth disease situation, the veterinary risk assessment on use of public rights of way has been revised, and concludes that it is now safe to re-open footpaths crossing remaining restricted premisesapart from those passing through farmyards or buildingsonce final cleansing and disinfection is complete, or, if final cleansing and disinfection is not being undertaken, three months after completion of preliminary cleansing and disinfection.
	The revised risk assessment was issued on 7 December, along with revised guidance to local authorities which encourages them to work closely with the Department's Divisional Veterinary Managers to establish exactly which rights of way may now be re-opened. Where paths pass through farmyards or buildings, authorities should try to arrange temporary permissive diversions with the farmers concerned, especially where heavily-used paths or national trails are affected. If this is not possible, those paths must remain closed until the veterinary restrictions are lifted. The revised risk assessment and guidance refer to footpaths as the most familiar rights of way, but apply equally to all types of public right of way.
	The guidance includes a code of conduct which local authorities are asked to publicise to path users, to encourage them to behave so as to reduce still further the already minimal risk that their activities could transmit the disease. However, there is no conflict between the relaxation of restrictions on rights-of-way users and continuing tight biosecurity controls on some farming activity: the latter are designed to limit the risks arising from working directly with animals, which, though now small, are far more significant than those arising from footpath use.
	97 per cent. of footpaths in England are now open. Local authorities may require a little time to establish which footpaths across restricted premises can be re-opened, but almost all should be open by early in the new year, provided that there are no further outbreaks of the disease.

Common Land

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will publish (a) a report on the consultation responses and (b) the Government's proposals on greater protection and better management of common land.

Alun Michael: The Government are considering proposals for improving the legislation on common land and town and village greens, as set out last year in the consultation paper Greater Protection and Better Management of Common Land in England and Wales. We expect to publish a detailed report on the responses to the paper and to announce our proposals for future action shortly.

Sheep and Cattle Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people claim (a) sheep and (b) cattle subsidy broken down by the geographical areas used by her Department for payment purposes.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 5 December 2001
	The table shows the number of people claiming sheep subsidy, broken down into claims received at the nine (former) Regional Service Centres (RSCs) during the 2001 Scheme year application period.
	
		
			 Regional Service Centre (RSC) Number of Claims 
		
		
			 Bristol 2,248 
			 Cambridge 998 
			 Carlisle 5,824 
			 Crewe 2,922 
			 Exeter 4,588 
			 Northallerton 5,073 
			 Nottingham 2,813 
			 Reading 2,906 
			 Worcester 3,608 
			  
			 Total 30,980

Sheep and Cattle Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the figures for the numbers of people claiming (a) sheep subsidy and (b) cattle subsidy for (i) one animal, (ii) two to five animals, (iii) five to 10 animals, (iv) 10 to 20 animals, (v) 20 to 100 animals, (vi) 100 to 200 animals and (vii) more than 200 animals.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 5 December 2001
	The table shows the number people claiming sheep subsidy on the above specified ranges of sheep numbers. This information reflects the 2001 Scheme year and therefore includes claims received at the nine (former) Regional Service Centres (RSCs).
	Figures for one to five sheep are nil as the rules for Sheep Annual Premium claims state that the claim must be made on a minimum of 10 sheep.
	
		
			 Number of sheep Number of claims 
		
		
			 1 0 
			 25 0 
			 610 342 
			 1120 2,046 
			 21100 9,933 
			 101200 6,225 
			 More 200 12,434 
			  
			 Total 30,980 
		
	
	The tables set out similar figures for the bovine schemes.
	
		2000 scheme year bovine claims
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 BSPS 
			 Bristol 212 262 477 617 1,435 284 0 3,287 
			 Cambridge 143 349 274 307 887 123 0 2,083 
			 Carlisle 236 661 569 850 2,343 383 0 5,042 
			 Crewe 264 702 540 675 1,406 221 0 3,808 
			 Exeter 342 1,015 760 1,028 2,591 580 0 6,316 
			 Northallerton 257 728 637 932 2,289 290 0 5,133 
			 Nottingham 184 526 485 604 1,618 301 0 3,718 
			 Reading 188 485 395 475 1,191 340 0 3,074 
			 Worcester 183 472 403 521 1,237 277 0 3,093 
			  
			 Total 2,009 5,200 4,560 5,809 14,797 2,799 0 35,554 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 SCPS 
			 Bristol 35 245 289 332 720 76 21 1,718 
			 Cambridge 34 182 188 230 480 65 21 1,200 
			 Carlisle 25 209 278 452 1,537 244 53 2,798 
			 Crewe 39 297 328 421 766 55 15 1,921 
			 Exeter 59 460 457 694 1,441 138 54 3,303 
			 Northallerton 44 349 388 647 1,483 145 24 3,036 
			 Nottingham 39 278 309 444 880 110 18 2,078 
			 Reading 46 276 288 414 876 112 23 2,035 
			 Worcester 49 298 282 369 707 74 11 1,790 
			  
			 Total 370 2,594 2,807 4,003 8,890 1,019 240 19,879 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 SPS 
			 Bristol 396 852 708 1,094 1,589 131 46 4,816 
			 Cambridge 163 397 325 351 634 102 65 2,037 
			 Carlisle 433 1,075 981 1,429 2,294 222 89 6,523 
			 Crewe 481 1,122 881 1,237 2,109 165 100 6,095 
			 Exeter 548 1,392 1,162 1,586 2,101 229 57 7,075 
			 Northallerton 420 1,119 942 1,097 2,087 329 161 6,155 
			 Nottingham 289 803 851 1,022 1,675 242 104 4,986 
			 Reading 241 560 415 549 1,216 156 53 3,190 
			 Worcester 256 591 473 600 1,217 156 68 3,361 
			  
			 Total 3,227 7,911 6,738 8,965 14,922 1,612 743 44,238 
		
	
	
		2001 scheme year bovine claims
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 BSPS 
			 Bristol 208 662 535 646 1,296 151 49 3,547 
			 Cambridge 131 327 272 292 532 70 38 1,662 
			 Carlisle 197 776 667 953 1,773 169 35 4,570 
			 Crewe 232 758 626 664 1,157 156 38 3,631 
			 Exeter 324 1,178 961 1,282 2,465 296 81 6,587 
			 Newcastle 73 245 228 297 540 62 11 1,456 
			 Northallerton 379 1,159 1,018 1,226 2,010 269 64 6,125 
			 Nottingham 177 627 505 613 1,296 173 60 3,451 
			 Reading 113 350 274 311 726 126 48 1,948 
			  
			 Total 1,834 6,082 5,086 6,284 11,795 1,472 424 32,977 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 SCPS 
			 Bristol 
			 Cambridge 22 119 122 134 318 36 14 765 
			 Carlisle 29 182 247 375 1,150 149 30 2,162 
			 Crewe 30 185 204 264 465 32 13 1,193 
			 Exeter 61 421 458 579 1,323 127 38 3,007 
			 Newcastle 11 83 99 110 201 16 4 524 
			 Northallerton 41 336 364 539 1,211 120 30 2,641 
			 Nottingham 30 163 199 262 554 62 13 1,273 
			 Reading 5 46 57 62 183 21 7 381 
			  
			 Total 229 1,535 1,750 2,325 5,405 563 149 11,946 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of claims for:  
			 RPA 1 animal 25 animals 610 animals 1120 animals 21100 animals 101200 animals More than 200 Total 
		
		
			 SPS 
			 Bristol 
			 Cambridge 98 280 177 287 532 85 53 1,512 
			 Carlisle 276 1,000 723 858 1,383 137 43 4,420 
			 Crewe 145 486 388 458 926 106 30 2,539 
			 Exeter 468 1,586 1,230 1,376 2,493 239 72 7,464 
			 Newcastle 47 183 158 206 497 45 20 1,156 
			 Northallerton 304 991 693 941 2,026 280 115 5,350 
			 Nottingham 125 439 399 589 1,289 183 73 3,097 
			 Reading 76 235 208 259 577 89 27 1,471 
			  
			 Total 1,539 5,200 3,976 4,974 9,723 1,164 433 27,009

Sheep and Cattle Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if pet owners may apply for (a) sheep and (b) cattle subsidies.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 December 2001
	To qualify for subsidy on sheep or cattle an individual must be a producer as specified within European Community legislation.
	In some circumstances pets may qualify but this is subject to detailed regulations. The definition of a producer, with regard to the grant of premiums for sheepmeat and goatmeat, is laid down within Council Regulation 3493/1990. For beef and veal subsidies this definition is in Council Regulation 1254/1999. Copies of these Regulations are available in the House of Commons Library.
	Claimants must also meet the specific eligibility requirements of each subsidy scheme. These are also set out in Community legislation.
	An overview of how livestock schemes operate within England, and which animals may be eligible for subsidy, is provided on-line at www.defra.gov.uk, under the headings of 'Farming' and 'Cattle and sheep schemes'.
	Administration of the livestock subsidy regimes within England is carried out by the Rural Payment Agency (RPA). Local offices of the RPA are able to provide, free of charge, notes for guidance to claimants, which detail the specific rules of the individual schemes.

Parliamentary Questions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will respond to the written questions of the hon. Member for Vale of York tabled on 27 November, Refs. 20822, 20823, 20825 and 20826.

Elliot Morley: I refer the hon. Lady to the answers provided on 11 December 2001, Official Report, columns 84551W, and the answer of 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 145W.

Sugar Beet

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the sugar beet industry; and what steps her Department has taken to ensure that the UK's rhizomania-free status remains.

Elliot Morley: The United Kingdom has not been rhizomania-free since 1987, when the first outbreak was found. Since then, the disease has been found in an increasing number of farms, so that 211 are now known to be infected with the disease. The UK was granted Protected Zone status for rhizomania when the Single Market Plant Health legislation was adopted in 1993, at which time only 19 outbreaks had been detected and there was still hope that the disease would not become widely established. Through the containment policy associated with Protected Zone status DEFRA has prohibited the use of outbreak fields for beet production and imposed hygiene requirements, to try to prevent further spread of the disease from those fields. Despite these measures the number of outbreaks has continued to rise. It is likely that the causative organisms for the disease were present in many locations before symptoms of the disease were detected.

Set-aside Land

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what has been the largest single payment to an individual for having land in set-aside in this financial year.

Elliot Morley: The payment period for land put into set-aside under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) during 2001 began on 16 November and will end on 31 January 2002 (or 31 March 2002 where the set-aside has been used for growing non-food crops).
	The largest payment for set-aside recorded so far is 110,492.14. The DEFRA financial database does not distinguish between payments to private individuals and those to other legal entities.

Set-aside Land

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid from 1 January to the latest available date in respect of set-aside land.

Elliot Morley: DEFRA has so far issued payments totalling 56,168,779.92 during 2001 in respect of set- aside under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS). This total includes payments for scheme years before 2001, and agrimonetary compensation.

Environmental Impact Assessments

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list the reasons why her Department has chosen not to utilise an indicative minimum area threshold for the implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on her Department's definition of (a) uncultivated land and (b) unimproved land for the purposes of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on her Department's decision to implement the uncultivated and semi-natural areas provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

Elliot Morley: The Government gave a commitment in the Rural White Paper in November 2000 and to Parliament to consult on implementing the uncultivated land provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. The Environmental Impact Assessment (Uncultivated Land and Semi-natural Areas) (England) Regulations 2001, S.I. No. 3966, will come into force on 1 February 2002.
	In our consultations on the regulations it was agreed that to be as helpful as possible to farmers the Government should provide a working guide to key but undefined terms in the Directive. The resulting guidelines, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House, will set out the categories of land concerned, including to unimproved grassland, heath, moorland, scrubland and wetlands. Unimproved grassland would typically include meadows and grazing pasture, downland or other open or enclosed upland grassland with some tree cover.
	The European Court of Justice has established that, even with indicative thresholds, an assessment would still be needed on whether a project was likely to give rise to significant environmental effects. To provide some degree of certainty, the Government decided that each case should be screened, but only those which give rise to significant environmental effects would be considered further under the Regulations.

National Park Authorities

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment she has made of the work of (a) the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, (b) the Lake District NPA and (c) National Parks Authorities in general;
	(2)  what plans her Department has to publish lists of applicants for appointment by the Secretary of State to National Parks Authorities;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the system of appointments to National Parks Authorities;
	(4)  what recent projects have been undertaken by (a) the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and (b) the Lake District National Park Authority; and what role members appointed by her Department have had in supporting such projects;
	(5)  what the political affiliations were of those who have been appointed to (a) the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and (b) the Lake District National Park Authority (i) between May 1997 and May 2001 and (ii) since June 2001;
	(6)  what guidance is given to applicants for positions with National Parks Authorities; and what feedback is provided to those whose applications are unsuccessful;
	(7)  what criteria are employed when selecting applicants for interview for positions with National Park Authorities; and what plans her Department has to review such procedures;
	(8)  which members have been appointed to (a) the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and (b) the Lake District National Park Authority since June; and how many of these members were known to (i) herself and (ii) her ministerial colleagues prior to their appointment.

Alun Michael: We have looked recently at the work of all the National Park Authorities in order to determine the distribution of National Park Grant for 200203. A wider National Park Authorities review started in August and this will be completed next spring.
	We have no plans to publish lists of applicants for appointment by the Secretary of State to National Park Authorities; the effectiveness of the system of appointments is being considered as part of the review.
	Applicants for Secretary of State appointments to National Park Authorities are not required to state their political affiliation. They are asked for detail on any political activities, which may be used in the announcement of their post. Neither political activities nor political affiliation is a criterion for or against appointment.
	I will write to the hon. Member with the answers to the remaining questions.

Dangerous Substances

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often since 1988 (a) the Health and Safety Executive and (b) other authorities to whom responsibility for enforcement of health and safety regulations has been transferred, have instigated formal enforcement actions where exposures to substances assigned control limits and maximum exposure limits have not exceeded the relevant limit but where exposures have not been further reduced to as low as was reasonably practicable; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	The Health and Safety Executive does not record information in this way. When it instigates enforcement action it does not differentiate between exposures that are within the relevant limits and those which have not been not further reduced to as low as reasonably practicable.

Dangerous Substances

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often since 1998 notifications with respect to work with asbestos have been lodged with the Health and Safety Executive where such work related to (a) materials containing crocidolite asbestos, (b) materials containing amosite asbestos and (c) materials containing chrysotile asbestos, but not crocidolite or amosite asbestos; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not have this information as there is no legal requirement for notifications to differentiate between the various types of asbestos. The total number of notifications to work with asbestos received by HSE since 1998 is as follows:
	
		
			 Year  Notifications 
		
		
			 199899 9,619 
			 19992000 20,240 
			 200001 27,806

Turner and Newall

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence the HSE has collected that Turner and Newall had adequate insurance coverage which complied with Government legislation; who were the insurers; what were the policy numbers; and what were the dates of the policies.

Alan Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
	The Health and Safety Executive has not collected evidence about Turner and Newall's insurance coverage.

HEALTH

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer the letter from the Chairman of the CJD Incidents Panel to the Chief Medical Officer.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 November 2001
	The Deputy Chief Medical Officer replied to Professor Banner on 23 November.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been conducted into the adequacy of cleaning and sterilisation of dental surgical instruments (a) before and (b) after the meeting of SEAC on 17 July which analysed the risk of person-to-person transmission of CJD arising from dental surgery.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 November 2001
	As part of a snapshot survey of decontamination practices at some national health service hospitals and other health premises, a small number of general dental practices were visited prior to the meeting of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee on 17 July 2000.
	Visits have been made to dental hospitals and dental departments of NHS trusts as part of the comprehensive review of current decontamination practices in NHS hospitals which began in October 2000.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the report by Dr. David Hurrell on hospital sterilisation procedures was made available to (a) the Economics and Operational Research Division when they compiled their report, Risk Assessment for Transmission of Variant CJD via Surgical Instruments: a modelling approach and numerical scenarios, in December 2000 and (b) the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 November 2001
	A snapshot survey of some hospitals and other health premises was undertaken last year by the NHS Estates Agency of the Department. An advisory panel, which included members of professional organisations as well as Departmental officials, was established to oversee it. Mr. David Hurrell acted as technical co-ordinator. As a result of that limited survey, a more comprehensive one was announced in October 2000.
	The findings of the snapshot survey were readily available to the Department's Economic and Operation Research Division, as they were part of the overseeing advisory panel.
	The Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee was not provided with results from the initial survey. But the Committee was informed at its meeting of 28 November 2000 that a major initiative had been launched to improve standards of washing, decontamination and general hygiene, earlier identified by the committee to be key steps in reducing the risk of transmission of variant CJD.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the major research programme into instrument decontamination referred to in paragraph 2.52 of the CJD incidents panel consultation paper 'Management of Hospital Exposure to CJD through Medical Procedures'.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 November 2001
	In 1999, the Department inaugurated a programme of research to develop and evaluate novel decontamination reagents and processes. Ten research contracts have been issued so far and a further four will be initiated in the near future. Progress on these contracts is overseen by a co-ordinating group which meets every six months, includes advisers from the Public Health Laboratory Service, the Medical Devices Agency and the National Health Service Estates Agency.
	Over 565,000 was spent on this subject in the year April 2000/March 2001 and expenditure is expected to rise to nearly a 1 million in the current year. Details of the current research programmes can be found on the Medical Research Centre website at http://www.mrc.ac.uk/ tsetb2c.htm.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of the (a) composition, (b) work and (c) number of meetings held by the project team set up by Department and to oversee the implementation of the programme of action set out in HSC 200032.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 November 2001
	The decontamination project is managed by a steering group that varies in composition depending on the aspect of the project it is considering. In its original form, it met four times. It is now led by Roger Evans, a former national health service trust chief executive, and its core membership contains representatives from the NHS Estates Agency, the Medical Devices Agency, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, the Department's Operations Directorate and the Department's Public Health Division. It is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running of the project, including recommending the allocation of resources and co-ordinating communications with the NHS and with the providers of sterile supply equipment and services. It has met three times and meets monthly.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issued to press offices and Department of Health appointees on dealing with BBC inquiries on surgical instrument decontamination.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 16 November 2001
	The Department's communications directorate has standing instructions on how to deal with requests from the media. The media centre worked with Panorama over several months, answering a number of inquiries, arranging a briefing meeting with the Department's policy leads on CJD, blood and decontamination and ensuring Panorama was invited to a key media briefing. The press officer dealing with Panorama was provided with answers to their questions and gave Panorama a statement on behalf of Ministers, which they chose not to use.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he received the (a) interim report and (b) final report by Dr. Hurrell into the adequacy of hospital decontamination of surgical instruments.

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when a Minister saw a draft report from Dr. David Hurrell on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in hospitals; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what action he is taking on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in hospitals following reports by Dr. David Hurrell;
	(3)  when Dr. David Hurrell was commissioned to investigate the risk of hospital patients developing Creutzfeld-Jakob disease; what his terms of reference were; when a draft of his report was communicated to his Department; and what was his Department's response.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 16 December 2001
	The survey, which began in September 1999, was a snapshot of decontamination practice at the time in a small number of hospitals and other health premises in England. It was commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer:
	To investigate the provision and use of equipment, facilities, trained personnel, management arrangements and technical support for decontamination of re-usable medical devices within NHS hospitals, private and voluntary organisations and primary medical and dental facilities;
	To establish the extent to which these complied with current legal requirements, published standards (both European and UK) and Department of Health best practice guidance;
	To obtain information on the usefulness of existing advice and guidance.
	A presentation on the progress to date was given to regional directors of public health (RDsPH) in March 2000 and the completed report was sent to the Department in September 2000. Mr. Hurrell was employed as technical co-ordinator for the survey, acted as lead assessor for some of the visits, helped to analyse the information collected, contributed to the production of the reports and helped to give the presentation to the RDsPH. He was not responsible for writing either report. The survey was carried out for specific purposes, one of which was to set in train further workincluding deciding whether a more comprehensive survey was needed.
	The results of this preliminary survey showed that there were variations in decontamination practice, including instances that fell below acceptable standards. A comprehensive survey of national health service trust decontamination facilities began when Health Service Circular 2000/032 was issued on 18 October 2000. This circular clearly stated that
	a snapshot survey of current decontamination practices in a small number of healthcare premises in England has now been carried out. A more comprehensive review of decontamination provision across the health service now needs to take place so that plans for the future can be based on national findings.
	In tandem with the surveys of decontamination, the Department developed a risk assessment on surgical instruments, which was first considered by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee in May 2000 and endorsed at its meeting in September 2000. It was published in March 2001. The Department presented its risk reduction strategy to the Committee's November 2000 meeting. The key components of this strategy were announced by my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), the then Minister of State, Department of Health on 4 January 2001 with 200 million to be invested in the modernisation of NHS decontamination facilities and with the introduction of single-use instruments for tonsillectomies. Since then, we have:
	Devised a self-assessment tool and collected data from every NHS trust;
	Run a series of development workshops to raise awareness of the importance of decontamination among NHS managers and technical staff;
	Visited and assessed all NHS acute hospital sites carrying out decontamination;
	Implemented a programme of work to improve standards where necessary.
	As a result of this, all NHS acute hospitals have access to a satisfactory standard of decontamination.
	The modernisation of NHS decontamination services is a long-term process, not a one-off event and we will continue to ensure that appropriate precautions, based on evidence and scientific advice, are taken to ensure patient safety.

Surgical Instruments (Decontamination)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the views of the Chairman of the CJD Incidents Committee relating to the report of Dr. Hurrell.

Jacqui Smith: We gave careful consideration to the views of the chairman of the CJD incidents panel but decided there was nothing to be gained from letting the panel have sight of an out-of-date and partial survey that had been overtaken by more recent work.
	The preliminary survey was a snapshot of decontamination practices at some national health service hospitals and other health premises. It was prepared for specific purposes, one of which was to set in train further workincluding deciding whether a full survey was needed. The Department has since announced:
	i. in October 2000, that a full survey would be undertaken; and
	ii. in January 2001, that a 200 million investment programme over the next two years to address decontamination standards would be set in train.
	The Department has published the results of the full survey, including the snapshot. A copy will be placed in the Library.

Personal Medical Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the cost of the pilot Personal Medical Service scheme in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000.

John Hutton: The costs of running personal medical services pilots were 38.2 million in 1998, 70.8 million in 1999, and 153.4 million in 2000.

Personal Medical Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of general practitioners work under Personal Medical Services; and what the intended proportion is by April 2002.

John Hutton: With the implementation of the third wave of personal medical services pilots in October 2001, some 18 per cent. of general practitioners are now working under PMS arrangements nationally. Applications for the fourth wave of pilots (starting in April 2002) are still being submitted.

Birth Certificates

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the cost to public funds of the fraudulent use of birth certificates in each of the last four years.

John Hutton: Birth certificates are the responsibility of the Office for National Statistics.
	There are no figures currently available to indicate the level of losses to the national health service as a result of the fraudulent use of birth certificates.

Hospital Waiting Times

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the South Cheshire health authority waited (a) more than three months for an in-patient operation, (b) more than six months for an in-patient operation, (c) more than one year for an in-patient operation, (d) more than three months for an out-patient appointment, (e) more than six months for an out- patient appointment and (f) more than one year for an out-patient appointment in each of the last 10 years.

John Hutton: The figures for in-patient and out-patient waiting times in south Cheshire health authority for the past six years (since the creation of the health authority) are shown in the tables.
	
		South Cheshire health authority in-patient waiting times
		
			 Waiting time 1997(41) 1998(41) 1999(41) 2000(41) 2001(41) 
		
		
			 36 months 3,577 3,919 3,271 3,501 3,339 
			 612 months 3,655 4,909 3,396 3,187 2,899 
			 Over 12 months 336 239 270 459 602 
			  
			 Total 7,568 9,067 6,937 7,147 6,840 
		
	
	(41) As at March each year
	
		South Cheshire health authority out-patient waiting times
		
			 Waiting times 1998(42) 1999(42) 2000(42) 2001(42) 2001(43) 
		
		
			 1325 weeks 3,309 3,874 3,316 2,632 4,437 
			 26+ weeks 351 2,056 1,147 1,007 1,470 
			 Total 13+ weeks waiters 3,660 5,930 4,463 3,639 5,907 
			 Full year GP referrals 108,802 112,308 114,966 119,443 62,289 
			 Percentage year on year increase  3.2 2.4 3.9 4.3 
		
	
	(42) As at March each year
	(43) As at Septemberonly five months' data
	Source:
	Based on FOT of 124578

Illegal Meat Imports

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussion he has had with colleagues in other Government Departments on (a) the level of illegal meat imports into the UK and (b) the effectiveness of controls and enforcement measures at (i) ports, (ii) airports and (iii) elsewhere to tackle illegal meat imports; and what assessment he has made of the need for further action.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 29 November 2001
	The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for public health issues relating to food safety, is taking an active role in an interdepartmental review led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs aimed at co-ordinating action across Government to ensure that rules governing imports of products of animal origin are enforced effectively.
	The board of the Food Standards Agency discussed the issue of food import controls on 22 October 2001. The board approved a report containing a set of proposals aimed at improving the co-ordination of controls and the effectiveness of inspection of food imports. FSA officials are exploring these proposals further and will report back to the board.

Adoption and Children Bill

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is the intention of clause 2 of the Adoption and Children Bill for the review panel to have power to recover the (a) whole or (b) part of the costs of the review panel from the relevant adoption agency.

Jacqui Smith: The White Paper Adoptiona new approach committed the Government to provide an independent review where an adoption agency intends to turn down a prospective adopter's application. A copy of the White Paper has been placed in the Library. The Bill includes powers enabling the appropriate Minister to establish a mechanism, which may be run by an independent body, to review qualifying adoption agency determinations. The cost of establishing the independent review mechanism will be met centrally from the extra 66 million for adoption announced in the Adoption White Paper. We have promised to consult on the detail of how the independent review mechanism will operate, including any charges to be imposed on adoption agencies.

Competitive Bidding

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the schemes administered by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies where funds are allocated by a competitive bidding process; and what was the amount of money allocated to each scheme.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 December 2001
	The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department does not keep central records of budgets or schemes where, specifically, competitive bidding processes are used. Officials estimate that there might be hundreds of such budgets across the Department covering administration, executive agencies and programme funding.

Primary Care Trusts

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts he expects to create under the NHS Reform Bill.

John Hutton: None. The National Health Service Reform Bill will not create any further primary care trusts but will enable increased functions to be devolved from health authorities in line with the principles of Shifting the Balance of Power.
	The power to create PCTs is contained in the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act, 1997. There are currently 164 PCTs in operation with a further 23 having been approved in October 2001 to become operational in April 2002. Approximately 130 further PCTs are hoping to become operational from 1 April 2002. The estimated total of PCTs operating from 1 April 2002 is expected to be over 300.

NHS Patients (Private Health Care)

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of surgical procedures on NHS patients in Worcestershire were carried out in private sector hospitals, in the most recent period of which figures are available; what plans he has to increase the use of the private sector in the county; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Information relating to surgical procedures carried out in private sector hospitals on national health service patients is not currently available. However, we have commissioned a report to assess the scale of independent sector usage at national and regional level which is due out next year. This survey does not allow analysis at a local level and consequently data specifically on Worcestershire will not be available. However, Worcestershire health authority advises that they are investing 1.2 million on transferring 200 orthopaedic patients to the private sector.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced a patient choice package which includes increasing use of the private sector. From July 2002, if a patient with coronary heart disease has been on an in-patient waiting list for over six months, they will be able to seek swifter treatment in either the private sector, in another European Union country or in a different NHS hospital.
	From October 2002, the same option of seeking treatment elsewhere at the six month in-patient waiting list stage, will also apply to anyone living in the London area. The option will be further extended to all patients across England throughout 200203 and beyond in the form of pilot sites. By the end of 2005, all patients in any part of the country will be able to choose where their treatment takes place, and book their appointment at a convenient time through an electronic booking system.
	Any decision to use private sector providers will be made on the basis of value for money, clinical need and all appropriate clinical standards must be maintained.

NHS Patients (Private Health Care)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were treated in the private sector for each quarter of the last two years.

John Hutton: Activity information collected from health authorities in the common information core includes in-patient, out-patient and residential care activity commissioned in the commercial, voluntary and non-national health service statutory sectors. This total cannot be separated into totals for the private sector only.

London Heart Hospital

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are available in the London Heart hospital; and what have been the bed occupancy levels since 3 September.

John Hutton: There are currently 65 beds available in the London Heart hospital. The acquisition of the hospital was 6 September 2001 and cardiac in-patient services were transferred from University College Hospitals NHS Trust (Middlesex hospital site) to the new facility on 1 October 2001. Occupancy for the month of November 2001 was 85.2 per cent.

Food Supplements Directive

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the European Commission regarding the time period for submission of safety dossiers on nutrients to the EU scientific committee on foods; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The proposed European Union Directive on food supplements would require submission of dossiers supporting inclusion of additional nutrients and nutrient sources in the annexes to the Directive within 18 months of adoption.

Food Supplements Directive

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the European Commission on how it intends to interpret Article 5 of the food supplements Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Article 5 of the proposed food supplements Directive would establish the approach to setting maximum limits for vitamins and minerals. The Food Standards Agency, which is negotiating this Directive on the Government's behalf, has discussed the interpretation of this Article with the European Commission on a number of occasions. The FSA is pressing for limits to be based on thorough scientific risk assessments.

Food Supplements Directive

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the nutrients included in the annexes to the food supplements Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The annexes of the proposed European Union Directive on food supplements list nutrients and nutrient sources which can be used in these products; many substances used in food supplements on the United Kingdom market are not, however, included in the current lists. The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for negotiating this Directive on the Government's behalf, has secured an amendment to the proposal which would allow individual member states, during a seven year transitional period, to allow sale of products containing substances which are not on the lists. The annexes would then be amended to include additional substances cleared by the EU scientific committee on foods.

Cancer Drugs

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral answer to the Prime Minister of 28 November 2001, Official Report, column 961, which new anti-cancer drugs are to be made available to the NHS by the end of the year.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 11 December 2001
	New cancer drugs come on stream continuously. Following appraisal by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, new drugs for 13 specific indications could be available by the end of 2001 (timings are of course subject to the appeals process). The national health service will be obliged to fund the implementation of any such guidance, and the extra resources that we announced recently will ensure that the NHS is well placed to do so.

NHS Employees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were employed in the national health service in each of the last four years; and how many were (a) doctors and (b) nurses.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Headcount 
		
			   1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Total NHS staff(44) 1,058,690 1,071,560 1,098,350 1,118,960 
			  
			 of which: 
			 Total NHS doctors 89,620 91,840 93,980 96,320 
			 GMPs (excluding GP retainers)(45),(46) 29,390 29,700 29,990 30,250 
			 All HCHS medical and dental staff(47) 60,230 62,140 63,990 66,070 
			  
			 of which: 
			 Total NHS nurses(48) 435,960 440,640 450,600 460,010 
			 HCHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 417,570 421,750 431,100 440,810 
			  
			 of which: 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 300,470 304,560 310,140 316,750 
			 Unqualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 116,430 116,580 119,680 123,850 
			 GMS practice nurses 18,390 18,890 19,500 19,200 
		
	
	(44) This figure includes GP retainers
	(45) GP retainers were collected for the first time in the 1999 census, for comparability these have been excluded from GMPs
	(46) The 1999 figure excludes 972 GP retainers and the 2000 figure excludes 1,117 GP retainers
	(47) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part-time in hospitals
	(48) Total includes unclassifiable nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff
	Notes:
	1. National health service hospital and community health services and general medical and personal medical services: All NHS staff, including all doctors and nurses, as at 30 September each year
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	3. Figures exclude learners and agency staff
	4. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts
	5. General and Personal Medical Services data collected at 1 October 199799
	Sources:
	Department of Health medical and dental work force census
	Department of Health non-medical work force census
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Mayday Hospital, Croydon

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at the accident and emergency department at Mayday hospital, Croydon in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the capacity is for that period.

John Hutton: In the financial year 200001, Mayday health care national health service trust had a total of 95,259 accident and emergency attendances, 86,681 being first attendances. Accident and emergency capacity figures are not collected.

Digital Hearing Aids

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a full copy of the interim evaluation results from the First Wave digital hearing aid sites.

Jacqui Smith: The modernisation of hearing aid services project is being evaluated by the Institute for Hearing Research on an on-going basis. The Department has been, and will continue to be, looking at the information coming out of that work with the Institute, but no formal interim reports are being published. The evaluation will be completed by the end of 2002, and a full report will be published at that time.

Digital Hearing Aids

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 486W, on digital hearing aids, by what date his Department will pass on the interim evaluation results of the first 20 first wave NHS trusts that are providing digital hearing aids to (a) the Scottish Executive, (b) the National Assembly for Wales and (c) the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Jacqui Smith: The modernisation of hearing aid services project is being evaluated by the Institute for Hearing Research on an on-going basis. While no formal interim reports are being published, officials of the Department are in contact with officials of the devolved Administrations and are sharing information with them as the project progresses.
	We will make the full results available to the devolved Administrations when they are available.

Nursing

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurse cadet schemes are in operation across the UK; and what plans he has to (a) continue to fund and (b) extend funding for such schemes.

John Hutton: As at 31 March 2001 there were 64 cadet schemes in operation in England.
	The operation and funding of cadet schemes is determined locally, in accordance with local needs and priorities.

Nursing

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further plans he has to promote careers in nursing to young people; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: In 200203 the Department will be running a national publicity campaign, a schools competition to promote careers to young people and 'nurses day'. National Health Service Careers will continue to offer information on nursing careers via revised literature, telephone and website. The Workforce Development Confederation will be co-ordinating liaison with schools in their local areas. Loughborough University have been commissioned to research the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer to potential nursing staff.

Overseas Treatment

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to allow the Isle of Wight (a) hospital trust, (b) health authority and (c) primary care group (i) to purchase operations abroad, (ii) to offer assistance with travel costs to patients being operated on abroad and (iii) to offer assistance with travel costs for relatives of patients being operated on abroad; and what financial resources he is making available for those purposes and to meet additional administrative costs.

John Hutton: holding answer 13 December 2001
	In the light of rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in July this year my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 27 August that national health service bodies could commission treatment for NHS patients from other member states of the European Economic Area (EEA), as part of their wider efforts to reduce waiting times. My right hon. Friend made it clear that NHS bodies would need to meet the costs of treating NHS patients elsewhere in the EEA out of their existing budgets.
	The regulations governing reimbursement of travel costs are being amended to enable NHS bodies to pay the travel costs of patients from the point of departure for their international journey (an airport, international train station or ferry port). Travel costs incurred by relatives of those being treated abroad will only be reimbursed if it is necessary on medical grounds that the patient be accompanied.
	On 15 October my right hon. Friend announced that the Department would be working with three test-bed sites in the south-east of England, East Kent, Portsmouth and West Sussex/East Surrey, on a pilot to send NHS patients to mainland Europe. The Department will produce guidance for the NHS based on the scheme. The first patients should travel in January 2002, subject to contractual discussions.

Overseas Treatment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on commissioning treatment for NHS patients overseas by the NHS.

John Hutton: In the light of recent rulings of the European Court of Justice, we announced that we would amend the National Health Service Act 1977 to enable the NHS to commission treatment within the European Economic Area (EEA). We will make regulations shortly. We will also take this opportunity to permit NHS bodies to commission care from outside the EEA, where it is in the patient's best interest to do so. We none the less expect that the overwhelming majority of referrals, where they occur, will be to countries of the EEA.
	Regulations will also be made shortly to amend the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988 to permit NHS bodies to pay for the travel of NHS patients going overseas for treatment funded by the NHS. The NHS will meet the cost of the patient's travel from the point at which they begin their international journey (the airport, ferry port or international train station) to the foreign provider. Reimbursement of travel expenses between the patient's home to the airport, ferry port of international train station will be governed by the same rules that currently apply to payment of travelling expenses to hospitals in England. This change will ensure that patients treated overseas under the auspices of the NHS will not be disadvantaged by having to travel further for that treatment.

Health Spending Statistics

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has collated on the proportion of total expenditure on health which is met by (a) private funding and (b) public funding in (i) each EU country, (ii) the USA, (iii) Australia and (iv) New Zealand in 1998.

John Hutton: holding answer 13 December 2001
	The latest figures for the proportion of total health expenditure that is met by (a) private funding and (b) public funding in (i) each European Union country, (ii) the USA, (iii) Australia and (iv) New Zealand are set out in the table.
	
		Percentage 
		
			   Private  Public  
			  1998 1999 1998 1999 
		
		
			 Austria 28 28 72 72 
			 Belgium 29 28 71 72 
			 Denmark 18 18 82 82 
			 Finland 23 25 77 75 
			 France 24 24 76 76 
			 Germany 24  76  
			 Greece 43  57  
			 Ireland 24  76  
			 Italy 29 28 71 72 
			 Luxembourg 8 7 92 93 
			 Netherlands 31 32 69 68 
			 Portugal 33  67  
			 Spain 23  77  
			 Sweden 16  84  
			 United Kingdom 16 17 84 83 
			 Australia 30  70  
			 New Zealand 23 22 77 78 
			 United States 55 55 45 45 
		
	
	Source:
	OECD Health Data 2001

Care Leavers

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned in the last five years into the experiences of young people who have left the care system.

Jacqui Smith: There is a growing body of research into the experiences of care leavers. There is a useful summary of most recent material in Helping Care Leavers: Problems and Strategic Responses by Professor Mike Stein and Dr. Jim Wade of the University of York, published in 2000 as part of the Department of Health's resource pack Getting it Right: Good Practice in Leaving Care.
	The social services inspectorate produced a detailed inspection report in this area in 1997, When Leaving Home is Also Leaving Care. The Department commissioned Moving On by Biehal et al, published in 1995. This research was built on by Professor Peter Marsh and Mark Peel at the University of Sheffield, in their Department of Health funded study Leaving Care in Partnership: Family Involvement with Care Leavers published in 1999. Other research commissioned recently by the Department includes the Audit and Assessment of Leaving Care Services in London by Jenni Vernon of the National Children's Bureau (September 2000).
	The Department also has research in progress. In April this year it commissioned Dr. Jim Wade to investigate the costs and outcomes of transitional support for care leavers. The study will consider a range of outcomes achieved by young people and evaluate the costs of different packages of support in different local authorities.
	Earlier this year the Department also called for proposals for a study of barriers to further education and training for care leavers under its Quality Protects Research Initiative.

Care Leavers

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people who left the care system went into (a) full-time education, (b) further education, (c) higher education and (d) Government training schemes in the last five years broken down by regions and nations; and what support is given to young people with multiple disadvantages to access job opportunities.

Jacqui Smith: Statistical information concerning the educational or employment status of care leavers in England over the last five years is not available. A new statistical collection which will provide this information for care leavers aged 19 has recently been introduced by the Department, and the first year of data will cover 12 months ending 31 March 2002. The Department plans to publish this information in autumn 2002.
	Matters relating to Wales and Scotland are for the devolved Administrations.
	The Department for Education and Skills is currently rolling out the Connexions service across England. This will offer all young people aged 13 to 19 support and advice to help them fulfil their potential by giving them access to a personal adviser. For those with multiple issues to address, the role of the personal adviser will be to help the young person identify their needs and aspirations, supporting them in overcoming difficulties. This will include working with and supporting education and training institutions, and employers, in meeting these needs.

NHS Staff Shortages

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the shortages in the NHS of (a) nurses, (b) GPs, (c) consultants and (d) therapists and other specialist staff.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan acknowledges that a shortage of human resources is the biggest constraint faced by the National Health Service today. Targets for increasing the number of doctors and nurses were set in the NHS Plan and rolled forward in the manifesto before the last election.
	The NHS Plan targets are for 7,500 more consultants, 2,000 more general practitioners, 6,500 more therapists and other health professionals and 20,000 more nurses by 2004. In September 2000 there were 1,100 more consultants, 126 more GPs, 1,400 more therapists and other health professionals and 6,300 more nurses than in September 1999, the NHS Plan baseline. Provisional data from the 2001 census indicate that 10,000 more nurses were employed in the NHS in 2001 than in 2000.
	The manifesto targets are for 10,000 more doctors and 20,000 more nurses by 2005 over the 2000 baseline.
	The September 2001 census, giving the latest position against these targets, will be available in January 2002.

NHS Spending

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by health authority area NHS spending per head of population.

John Hutton: The expenditure by weighted head of population for each English health authority area for 200001 is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure by health authorities and primary care trusts -- 
		
			 Health authority Expenditure by weighted head 
		
		
			 Avon 856.75 
			 Barking and Havering 773.42 
			 Barnet 959.87 
			 Barnsley 766.50 
			 Bedfordshire 779.74 
			 Berkshire 804.46 
			 Bexley and Greenwich 886.09 
			 Birmingham 823.71 
			 Bradford 769.58 
			 Brent and Harrow 823.29 
			 Bromley 971.74 
			 Buckinghamshire 755.09 
			 Bury and Rochdale 771.15 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees 763.88 
			 Cambridgeshire 786.94 
			 Camden and Islington 1,067.88 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 796.09 
			 County Durham and Darlington 738.32 
			 Coventry 802.56 
			 Croydon 925.44 
			 Doncaster 861.88 
			 Dorset 1,023.69 
			 Dudley 828.09 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 826.21 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 803.66 
			 East Kent 810.16 
			 East Lancashire 740.66 
			 East London and The City 869.91 
			 East Riding and Hull 787.13 
			 East Surrey 958.66 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 827.74 
			 Enfield and Haringey 817.53 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside 784.29 
			 Gloucestershire 799.79 
			 Herefordshire 761.71 
			 Hillingdon 753.76 
			 Isle of Wight 867.61 
			 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 1,011.24 
			 Kingston and Richmond 829.50 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 886.88 
			 Leeds 869.94 
			 Leicestershire 779.71 
			 Lincolnshire 808.95 
			 Liverpool 887.35 
			 Manchester 869.02 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 882.91 
			 Morecambe Bay 1,346.04 
			 Newcastle and North Tyneside 811.10 
			 Norfolk 815.11 
			 North and East Devon 800.95 
			 North and Mid Hampshire 835.93 
			 North Cheshire 811.75 
			 North Cumbria 793.52 
			 North Derbyshire 744.33 
			 North Essex 839.97 
			 North Nottinghamshire 761.33 
			 North Staffordshire 760.11 
			 North West Lancashire 770.48 
			 North Yorkshire 814.07 
			 Northamptonshire 830.95 
			 Northumberland 871.50 
			 Nottingham 842.50 
			 Oxfordshire 823.14 
			 Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 762.50 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 901.60 
			 Rotherham 773.29 
			 Salford and Trafford 839.62 
			 Sandwell 777.76 
			 Sefton 1,040.25 
			 Sheffield 956.59 
			 Shropshire 763.29 
			 Solihull 756.17 
			 Somerset 825.30 
			 South and West Devon 800.84 
			 South Cheshire 801.87 
			 South Essex 806.50 
			 South Humber 802.29 
			 South Lancashire 779.41 
			 South Staffordshire 792.06 
			 Southampton and South West Hampshire 781.00 
			 Southern Derbyshire 759.33 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley 749.06 
			 Stockport 759.28 
			 Suffolk 778.56 
			 Sunderland 781.94 
			 Tees 824.19 
			 Wakefield 854.72 
			 Walsall 776.48 
			 Warwickshire 798.29 
			 West Hertfordshire 800.40 
			 West Kent 786.21 
			 West Pennine 746.22 
			 West Surrey 840.34 
			 West Sussex 784.64 
			 Wigan and Bolton 732.65 
			 Wiltshire 828.57 
			 Wirral 798.81 
			 Wolverhampton 763.81 
			 Worcestershire 827.41 
		
	
	Note:
	1. Expenditure is taken from health authority and primary care trust summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total spent by the health authority and by the primary care trusts within each health authority area. The majority of General Dental Services expenditure is not included in the health authority or primary care trust accounts and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board.
	2. Health authorities and primary care trusts should account for their expenditure on a gross basis. This results in an element of double counting where one body acts as the main commissioner and is then reimbursed by other bodies. The effect of this double counting within the answer cannot be identified.
	3. Some health authorities act as lead commissioners for particular specialties which inflates their figures when compared with others and also causes differences between years. Other factors may also distort the figures so the results are therefore not all directly comparable with each other and with answers to similar questions for previous years.
	Source:
	Health authority audited summarisation forms 200001.
	Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 200001.
	Weighted population estimates for 200001.

GP Waiting Times

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given to GPs about reducing notified waiting times for appointments.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts have been working with practices to implement plans to achieve by March 2002 the 60 per cent. milestone for patients being able routinely to see a GP within two working days. These plans were informed by advice issued to primary care trusts and groups in June 2000.
	Further comprehensive guidance is being developed with key stakeholders for issue in the new year.

Cancer Screening

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce a prostate cancer screening programme; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: We are committed to introducing a screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. Trials for prostate cancer screening have shown that there are a number of complex issues involved. There is no conclusive evidence from any country that screening for prostate cancer would reduce the death rate from prostate cancer.
	The national health Service prostate cancer programme was launched on 6 September 2000, covering research, treatment and a risk management programme specifically around improving early detection and diagnosis.

Cancer Screening

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will give a breakdown of how the money for the NHS (a) breast cancer screening programme and (b) cervical cancer screening programme is allocated;
	(2)  how much money has been (a) allocated and (b) spent in the national health service on (i) breast cancer screening programmes and (ii) cervical cancer screening programmes in (A) each of the financial years since 1990 and (B) future years for which budgets have been set, broken down by regional health authority.

Yvette Cooper: The information is not available in the format requested. Funding for the national health service breast and cervical screening programmes is allocated directly to health authorities as part of their main allocations each year. It is estimated that the breast screening programme in England costs 52 million per year 1 and the cervical screening programme in England costs 132 million per year 2 .
	As set out in the NHS Cancer Plan, the breast screening programme in England will be expanded by 2004 to include routine invitations for women aged 65 to 70. 1.5 million revenue and 2 million capital has been allocated in 200102 to begin the national roll-out of the expansion. Allocations for 200203 will be announced in due course.
	1 Department of Health Economics and Operational Research Division 2001
	2 National Audit Office, The Performance of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England (22 April 1998)

Older Homeless People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what standards and milestones have been set to ensure that the health and social care needs of older homeless people are specifically addressed in the implementation of the National Service Frameworks for Older People and Mental Health.

Jacqui Smith: The standards and milestones for improvements in access and delivery of health and social care services set within the National Service Framework for Older People apply equally to all older people, and where appropriate younger people, whatever their housing status. The National Service Framework for Mental Health focuses on adults of working age. Like the NSF for Older People, the standards and milestones apply to all including the homeless.

Chief Medical Officer (Annual Report)

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates in each of the past 10 years the Chief Medical Officer published his annual report.

John Hutton: The Chief Medical Officer's annual report was published in September during the years 199198, and specifically in recent years, on 25 September 1996, 30 September 1997 and 9 September 1998. Since then Professor Liam Donaldson, the current Chief Medical Officer, reviewed the format of the annual report and published the first one during his term of office on 10 December 2001. No report was published in the intervening years of 19992000 although the Chief Medical Officer has produced five major reports on specific topics during this period.

Cancer Networks

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  to which individual or organisation cancer networks are answerable; and what the accountability arrangements are for cancer networks;
	(2)  if cancer networks will be given a budget to commission services; and if commissioning and providing functions will be separated;
	(3)  what the relationship will be between strategic health authorities and cancer networks; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The NHS Cancer Plan said that cancer networks would be the organisational model for cancer services to implement the Cancer Plan, bringing together commissioners, providers, the voluntary sector and local authorities. Cancer networks have been working together to develop strategic service delivery plans to develop all aspects of cancer services. The National Health Service Planning and Performance Framework published on 6 December set out the requirement that NHS organisations should work together through cancer networks to deliver the cancer programme in line with network's strategic plans. The role of cancer networks and their relationships with other NHS bodies will be clarified shortly in our response to the consultation on Shifting the Balance of Power in the NHS.

Technology Appraisal Guidance

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how his Department will ensure that health authorities and primary care trusts fulfil their statutory obligation after January 2002 to implement technology appraisal guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence;
	(2)  if health authorities and primary care trusts will have a statutory obligation to implement technology appraisal guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence before January 2002.

John Hutton: The statutory obligations on health authorities and primary care trusts to provide appropriate funding for treatments recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence applies to guidance issued before and after 1 January 2002.
	We expect all national health service bodies to fulfil their statutory obligations and the Department will use appropriate performance management arrangements to ensure that they do so.

Cancer Nurses

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of specialist nurses for (a) lung cancer, (b) stomach cancer and (c) urological cancers.

Yvette Cooper: The NHS Cancer Plan sets out our commitment to investment in the cancer nursing work force. We expect to see an increase in all specialist cancer nurses in line with needs identified in local cancer service delivery plans.

Long-term Care Homes

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into the reasons for the closure of nursing and residential homes.

Jacqui Smith: We have commissioned a study from the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent.

Pesticide Residues

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review safety levels of pesticide residues in food.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA works closely with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on all matters concerning pesticide residues in food.
	The safety of pesticide residues in foodstuffs is kept under continuous review by DEFRA's Pesticide Safety Directorate with advice from the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). Additionally checks are made that residues in food are within statutory limits through a wide-ranging surveillance programme overseen by the independent Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC). The results from the PRC's surveillance programme are published quarterly on the Committee's website at www.pesticides.gov.uk.
	There has been some specific concern over the potential combined effects of pesticide residues and at the request of the FSA, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), a group of independent experts, established a Working Group for the Risk Assessment of Mixtures of Pesticides/Veterinary Medicines (WIGRAMP).

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Pilot Schemes (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if her Department plans to extend the (a) Government General Practitioner and (b) Internet Learning and Access Point trials to the constituency of Buckingham.

Douglas Alexander: We have no plans to extend the pilots, which will finish as planned on 1 March and the results will be fully evaluated.
	We have begun the process of evaluation and are working in parallel with other Departments in order to proceed to national roll-out if the pilot proves a success and provides value for money.

Postal Service (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost through (a) unofficial and (b) official industrial action by the Post Office in the constituency of Buckingham in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: Industrial relations and the resolution of disputes are matters for the management of the company and the unions. I am advised by the company that the information sought is not available on a constituency basis.

Postal Service (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of (a) first and (b) second class mail was delivered within the target time in the constituency of Buckingham in each year since 1997.

Douglas Alexander: Service delivery targets are operational issues for Consignia provided that it remains within the terms of the licence issued to it by the Postal Services Commission.
	I am advised by the company that figures on service delivery targets are not held by parliamentary constituency.

Consignia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department was informed about the proposed abolition of the second delivery of post.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 13 December 2001
	There is no formal requirement for Consignia to inform the Department about its proposals in relation to second delivery as they are operational issues for the company provided that it remains within the terms of the licence issued to it by the Postal Services Commission. However, the Department has regular discussions with Consignia about a range of strategic issues facing the company.

Consignia

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last met Consignia to discuss the franchise arrangements for Parcelforce.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Department has regular discussions with Consignia about a range of strategic issues facing the company. However, franchise arrangements for Parcelforce are operational issues for the management of the company which I understand is consulting with the unions on the matter.

Consignia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department was informed by Consignia of the proposal to charge for post delivered before 9.30 am.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 13 December 2001
	There is no formal requirement for Consignia to inform the Department about its proposals to charge for post delivered before 9.30 am as they are operational issues for the company provided that it remains within the terms of the licence issued to it by for the Postal Services Commission. However the Department has regular discussions with Consignia about a range of strategic issues facing the company.

Consignia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations have taken place between the Government and Consignia regarding the announcement of job cuts; when her Department was informed by Consignia that it was to make job cuts; what discussions have taken place to mitigate the effects of these job losses; what action the Government intend to take to save as many jobs as possible; whether the various post services where these cuts may take place have been identified; how many job losses there will be in Coventry; what discussions took place between Consignia and the postal unions prior to the announcement of job cuts; and whether there are any meetings planned with the postal unions regarding the announcement of job cuts.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Department has regular discussions with Consignia about a range of strategic issues facing the company. How this company intends to make the 1.2 billion cost savings it has announced is an operational issue for the company in consultation with the unions. The company does not yet have a proposal on what impact the 1.2 billion cost savings will have on employment levels and has not informed the Government of specific plans of how it intends to achieve these savings.

Consignia

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost of the name change to Consignia.

Douglas Alexander: The choice of name of the Post Office company and the cost of its implementation were essentially commercial matters for the company and are not areas in which Government would have sought to intervene.
	I am informed by the company that, by the time the name effectively came into use on the day on which the property, rights and liabilities of the Post Office were transferred to the new company, the total costs were less than 2 million, much of which I am informed would have been incurred in any event in respect of signage, stationery and financial documentation because of the transformation to a plc.

Consignia

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she intends to waive dividend payments from Consignia for the current financial year.

Douglas Alexander: No decision has been taken.

Post Offices (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been granted to help sustain and improve post offices in the constituency of Buckingham in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: Since 1999, 480 million has been invested by the Government in the Horizon programme to automate the post office network. It is not possible to give a figure for the benefit of this initiative specifically for the Buckingham constituency. Development work is continuing on the other funding proposals to implement the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit's report to help sustain and improve the post office network.

Post Offices (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding has been granted to assist with one-off capital costs associated with the refurbishment or relocation of rural post offices in the constituency of Buckingham in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: The Sub-Post Office Start-up Capital Subsidy Scheme came into operation in September and is being administered by Post Office Ltd. on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. I understand that no applications have yet been received in respect of rural sub-post offices in the Buckingham constituency.

Fireworks

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made regarding the effectiveness of legislation controlling the (a) sale and (b) use of fireworks.

Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Hepburn) on 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 943W.

Fireworks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of persons injured by fireworks in each of the last five years were injured by fireworks in 
	(1)  (a) category 3 and (b) category 4 of BS 7114;
	(2)  (a) Category 1 and (b) Category 2 of BS 7114.

Melanie Johnson: We do not collect information on the BS7114 technical category of fireworks involved in injuries. Our annual data collection exercise provides details of the place of accident, such as public display or private party, and the type of firework involved, based on the patient's description. Category 4 fireworks are prohibited from general sale by the Fireworks (Safety) regulations 1997. We also know that the majority of injuries are caused in some way by misuse. We have no evidence of any correlation between the technical category of fireworks and the levels of injury.

Fireworks

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations she has received since 1 October from (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public concerning the use, misuse and sale of fireworks.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department has received 348 representations from hon. Members and 653 directly from members of the public, concerning a wide range of issues relating to fireworks.

Internet Shopping

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to protect consumers from unscrupulous traders on the internet.

Melanie Johnson: We are providing protection through codes of practice, dispute resolution and clear information for on-line shoppers.
	In November I launched a Safe Internet Shopping Campaign together with the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about e-shopping and demonstrate that it is safe as long as shoppers follow basic, common-sense guidelines.
	Existing consumer protection legislation (the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and distance selling regulations) do protect consumers from credit card fraud and give them a cooling-off period in respect of most contracts.
	DTI is working with business and consumer organisations to deliver straightforward guidance, and to provide access to more comprehensive information about the full range of concerns through DTI's Consumer Gateway website.

Postal Delivery

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which areas the Royal Mail has withdrawn the second daily postal delivery in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Proposals in relation to second delivery are operational issues for the company, provided that it remains within the terms of the licence issued to it by the Postal Services Commission.

'Your Guide' Pilot Project

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the 'Your Guide' pilot project in Leicestershire; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The 'Your Guide' pilot of post offices as Government General Practitioners was launched in September and will finish as planned on 1 March.
	We have began the process of evaluation and are working in parallel with other Departments in order to proceed to national roll-out if the pilot proves a success and provides value for money.

'Your Guide' Pilot Project

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she has taken to promote the 'Your Guide', initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The Department has provided 25 million funding for the Leicestershire and Rutland pilot and is engaging other central and local government departments and the devolved Administrations in the project. Consignia, which is running the pilot in Leicestershire and Rutland, is actively promoting the service locally within the pilot area. The future of 'Your Guide' nationally depends on a full evaluation of the pilot which ends on 1 March.

Fair Trade

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what fairly traded products, other than tea and coffee, have been purchased by her Department in each of the last five years; and what was their value.

Douglas Alexander: The Department's contracted caterer supplies fairly traded coffee. Directorates are free to purchase catering supplies from other sources and reliable information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Broadband Services

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the population of (a) Wales and (b) the UK have access to broadband servers by means of (i) ADSL, (ii) cable, (iii) wireless and (iv) satellite.

Douglas Alexander: A map showing availability of technologies is contained in the second annual UK Online report (http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ukonline/progress/ anrep2001/default.htm).

Broadband Services

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the population of (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom have access to broadband services by means of (i) ADSL, (ii) cable, (iii) wireless and (iv) satellite.

Douglas Alexander: A map showing geographical availability of technologies is contained in the second annual UK Online report (http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/ ukonline/progress/anrep2001/default.htm). This report also contains links to the report Connecting Scotland: Our Broadband Future, which sets out the availability of broadband in Scotland.

Regional Selective Assistance (Cornwall)

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much regional selective assistance funding has been granted to Cornwall since 1997.

Alan Johnson: This Department has made 56 offers of regional selective assistance to businesses in Cornwall since May 1997, totalling 15.2 million in grant, to support projects with a total capital expenditure of 99.9 million, and to create and safeguard a total of 2,852 jobs.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the reviews that commenced in (a) 19992000 and (b) 200001 of non-departmental public bodies.

Patricia Hewitt: Following is the information requested relating to quinquennial reviews of the Department's executive NDPBs:
	19992000
	The Design Councilcompleted
	The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Servicecompleted
	National Consumer Councilcompleted.
	200001
	The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authoritycompleted
	The six grant awarding Research Councilscompleted
	The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research CouncilsStage 1 completed.
	The Coal AuthorityStage 1 completed.
	Following is the information requested relating to quinquennial reviews of the Department's advisory and tribunal NDPBs:
	19992000
	Central Arbitration Committeecompleted
	International Oil and Gas Business Advisory Board (previously the OSO Industry Board)completed
	Measurement Advisory Committeecompleted.
	200001
	Renewable Energy Advisory Committeecompleted
	Standing Advisory Committee on Industrial Propertycompleted
	Insolvency Practitioners' Tribunalcompleted.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, 'Winning the Generation Game', (a) what progress her Department has made and (b) what future plans her Department has for acting on them; and if she will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, at column 335W.

South West of England Regional Development Agency

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the projects (a) being undertaken and (b) completed by the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Alan Johnson: In most cases the projects supported by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) are undertaken on a partnership basis. Projects for which the SWRDA provided more than 25,000 in 200001 are listed in the RDA Annual Report 200001 which is available in the Libraries of the House or can be obtained direct from the SWRDA.
	Sub-regional projects the RDA supported in 200001 by providing more than 25,000:
	Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole:
	A Model for a 'Virtual' Centre of Excellence in Coastal Zone
	Management Training
	Agri-connexion, Kingston Maurward
	Allendale Heritage and Community Centre, Wimborne
	Awareness, Advice and Action for Skills Development, Bournemouth
	Bournemouth and Poole Learning Network
	Bournemouth Incubator Centre
	Developing Fast-Track Training for ICT Technicians
	Development Manager for Lyme Regis Development Trust
	Higher Barn, Melbury Osmond, Dorchester
	Higher Education South West Business Net (HESWBusNet), Bournemouth
	Honeybrook Farm Visitors Centre, Wimborne
	Kimmeridge Marine Education Centre
	Norden Park and Ride, Corfe, Wareham
	Poole Arts Centre
	Shaftesbury Advice Centre Weymouth Skate Park
	Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly:
	Business Information Service (Enterprise Edge)
	Celtic Film and Television Festival
	Chacewater Village Hall
	Cornwall Objective One Technical Assistance
	Combined Universities in Cornwall
	Coverack Space 2000
	Developing Fast-Track Training for ICT Technicians
	Digital Peninsula Network
	Eden Institute Centre
	Eden Public Realm Works, St. Austell
	Gaia Centre, Delabole
	Geevor Tin Mine Emergency Works, St. Just
	Great Onslow, Bodmin Moor
	Green Park Feasibility
	Helston Business Park
	Ladock Parish Hall
	Let's do IT
	Long Rock, Penzance
	Lower Pengegon
	Mylor Yacht Harbour
	Plot F, Saltash Parkway (Habit Diamond)
	Spanning the Century, Camel Trail, Padstow
	St. Austell Town Centre
	Tolvaddon Energy Park
	Towednack and Nancledra Community Hall
	Train Net
	UFP Camborne, Pool, Redruth
	Youth LinkPenwith and Kerrier
	Devon, Plymouth and Torbay:
	181 Rendell Street, Plymouth
	Achievement Plus, Plymouth
	Agri-BIP Rural Business Support
	Basic Employability Skills
	Bovey Tracey Youth Caf
	Derriton Viaduct, Holsworthy
	Devon and West Somerset Key Fund
	East Devon Business Centre, Honiton
	Exeter Advanced Technologies
	Exeter Innovation Centre
	High Street and Peel Street Redevelopment, Plymouth
	Honicknowle Employment Project, Plymouth
	Infrastructure Improvements, Sowton, Exeter
	Jersey Farm, Sampford Peverell
	Kingsbridge Age Concern and Rest Centre
	Marine Projects, Plymouth
	Millbay Laundry, Plymouth
	ORBIT, Ottery St. Mary
	Pall Cycleway, Ilfracombe
	Pitts Cleave, Tavistock
	Plymouth Job to Job Subsidy
	Rural Counselling Programme
	SourtonLake Cycleway
	Springboard to Learning, Plymouth
	St. Sidwells Centre, Exeter
	Stonehouse Creek Community Centre, Plymouth
	Tamar Science Park, Plymouth
	The Soundhouse, Plymouth
	Theatre Royal Production and Education Centre, Plymouth
	Wallabrook Viaduct
	Yeo Bridge, Barnstaple
	Gloucestershire:
	Bream Community Centre Refurbishment Scheme
	Coney Hill Neighbourhood College Centre
	Cranfield Medical Research Centre
	CREATE Training, Lydney
	Developing Fast-Track Training for ICT Technicians
	Fixing the FutureSolution for IT Services Skills
	Forest of Dean Radio Project
	Gloucestershire Development AgencySupport for SRP
	Gloucestershire Innovation Centre
	Gloucestershire Network Neighbourhoods Projects Network on behalf of the Gloucestershire Training Group Centre for Engineering Excellence
	Hesters Way Community Resource Centre
	Lister Petter mixed-use regeneration site, Dursley
	Matson Lane Community College Health and ICT Resource Centre
	Skill Joy
	The Link Group
	Somerset:
	Baird Clothing
	Bowdens Farm, Langport
	Bussman Cooper
	Computer-based, Internet-linked Heavy Goods Vehicle Provision in the South West Peninsula
	E-Business Skills Development Programme
	Filton Econet Partnership for Sustainable Business Development in the South West region
	Morlands Factory Site, Glastonbury
	Somerset Skills Support Project
	South West Marine Sector Training and Development
	The Western Colleges Consortium for On-Line Learning
	Tourism Task ForceBristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset
	Watchet Youth Centre
	Watchet Marina
	Wiltshire and Swindon:
	Berwick St. John Community Resource Centre
	Charlton Park Farms, Office Development, Malmesbury
	Easton Farm, Tourist Facility, Berwick St. John
	Hoechst Trespaphan
	Little Durnford Farms, Business and Workspace, Salisbury
	Multimedia in Wiltshire
	Oakley Business Park, Workspace Units, Dinton
	Purton Down Biotech Incubator Centre
	RK Wise
	Skills at Work in Wiltshire and Swindon
	St. Martins Farm, Tourist Facility, Warminster
	Swindon Pressings Ltd.
	The Beeches Court Farm, Tourist Facility, Calne
	The Western Colleges Consortium for On-Line Learning
	Ushers
	Bristol and West of England:
	Cabot Community Sports Centre, Bristol
	E-Business Skills Development Programme
	Emersons Innovation
	Engineering for Avon
	Harbourside Project, Bristol
	Nailey Farm, St. Catherine's, Bath
	Old Town Quarry, Weston-super-Mare
	Safe and Warm Phase 2, Bristol Temple Quay, Bristol The Western Colleges Consortium for On-Line Learning Towards the Radstock Community Vision Working Together for Southmead, Bristol.

South West of England Regional Development Agency

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the regeneration targets to be met by the South West Regional Development Agency.

Alan Johnson: The following are the agreed targets for the South West of England Regional Development Agency's regeneration programmes in 200102.
	
		
			  Targets 
		
		
			 Land and propertyPartnership Investment Programme(PIP)outputs  
			 Private Investment generated (000) 61,964,750 
			 Area of brownfield land reclaimed/brought back into use (differentiated by soft and hard end use) (hectares) 39 SE 
			 Woodland created (trees planted or hectares) 0 
			 Treatment of contaminated land (hectares) 0 
			 Jobsnumber created and safeguarded 1,140 
			 New industrial commercial floorspace created (square metres) 27,701 
			 Accessibility improved between homes and workplaces (length of footpath/cycleway created) 0 
			 Housing units facilitated on brownfield land (number of housing units) 250 
			 Spend (000) 6,000,000 
			   
			 Land and propertynon PIP outputs  
			 Jobsnumber created and safeguarded 1,790 
			 Private investment generated () 20,500,000 
			 Area of brownfield land reclaimed/brought back into use 84.9 ha (55 SE) 
			 Woodland created (trees planted or hectares) 0 
			 Treatment of contaminated land 29.9 HE 
			 New industrial/refurbished floorspace created 51,800 
			 Accessibility improved between homes and workplaces 10 
			 Housing units facilitated on brownfield land 340 
			 Spend (000) 27,642,000 
			   
			 Single Regeneration Budget(49)  
			 Jobs created/safeguarded(49) 2,410/(49)80 
			 Homes and buildings with improved security 4,125 
			 Voluntary organisations and community groups supported(49) 4,205/(49)84 
			 New business start-ups(49) 572 
			  (49)40 
			 Hectares of land improved/reclaimed for open space and improved/reclaimed/serviced for development (of perhaps a combination of these) 17 
			 Private finance attracted (000) (50)14,080 
			 Spend (000) 26,726,000 
			   
			 Rural Programme  
			 Number of grants made or projects supported 429 
			 Area of work space created/safeguarded (square metres) 33,686 
			 Match funding attracted as a percentage of RDA's direct cash input ( million) 26.4 
			 Number of child care places created 100 
			 Spend () 9,388,000 
			 Jobs created/safeguarded 2,167 
			 Business started up and surviving at least one year 283 
			 Number/areas of redundant buildings converted to commercial use 260 
			 Number of training places created 1,593 
			 Number of new improved facilities 404 
			 Number of additional visitors 99,649 
		
	
	(49) Figures for ethnic minorities
	(50) Million

Innovation Funding

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will provide a regional breakdown of innovation funding in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department's innovation programme expenditure is primarily providing support to industry UK-wide. In the financial year 200102, 340 million was allocated to this support. It would be a disproportionate cost to ascertain the regional breakdown of this expenditure. Moreover in many instances mapping the immediate recipient of the support would not give a reliable guide to the ultimate distribution of the benefit.
	The only funding currently allocated by my Department on a regional basis that contributes to the DTI's innovation agenda is the Regional Innovation Fund (RIF), which was established on 1 April 2001.
	RIF provides a funding stream to the nine English Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to enable them to support regional competitiveness, innovation and enterprise, and to support cluster development and business incubation in their regions. A breakdown of my Department's 200102 RIF allocation of 54.1 million to the RDAs is as follows:
	
		200102 RIF allocation
		
			  RDA  million 
		
		
			 One North East 8.9 
			 North West Development Agency 7.4 
			 Yorkshire Forward 10.0 
			 East Midlands Development Agency (emda) 4.3 
			 Advantage West Midlands 6.3 
			 East of England Development Agency 3.5 
			 SEEDA 3.2 
			 South West of England Regional Development Agency 4.7 
			 London Development Agency 5.8

Female Entrepreneurs

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking (a) to promote female entrepreneurs and (b) to create an enterprise environment that supports both men and women.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government's priority on coming to office in 1997 was economic stability and employment. The economic challenge for the second term is enterprise and productivity.
	The Government are promoting enterprise through:
	stable macroeconomic conditions, sound public finances and low inflation
	improving the tax regime, by introducing new measures to help small businesses grow, including simplifying VAT for half a million small firms and extension of the 10p corporation tax rate
	radical rethink of the UK competition regime.
	The Small Business Service (SBS) aims to build an enterprise society in which small businesses of all kinds thrive and achieve their potential. Last year it published Think Small Firsta national strategy to create the right environment for SMEs. SBS is holding meetings across Whitehall to ensure all Government Departments consider the impact their actions have on them.
	SBS's services are available to both male and female entrepreneurs in England, through the Business Link network, which provides local advice and support to all entrepreneurs on everything needed to start and grow a business. Business Connect delivers a similar service in Wales.
	Women who are thinking of setting up or who are already running their own businesses are able to make use of the full range of services provided by SBS through the Business Link operators.
	In addition, SBS has set up the Phoenix Fund to encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas and within groups which are currently under-represented in terms of business ownership (including women). The Phoenix Fund as a whole is worth 100 million over the four financial years from 200004. 16 projects specifically target the needs of women. The National Assembly for Wales has a separate budget to promote female entrepreneurs.
	The SBS is working to research and better understand the needs of women entrepreneurs and tackle any specific barriers that they may face in starting and running their own businesses.

Anti-competitive Behaviour

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many anti-competitive behaviour cases are being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading.

Melanie Johnson: Under UK competition legislation, responsibility for monitoring markets and considering allegations of anti-competitive behaviour is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading. I have asked the Director General to write to the hon. Member directly.

Small Business Service

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Small Business Service in assisting the establishment of new companies.

Nigel Griffiths: The SBS delivers a range of support to start-up businesses through the Business Link network and manages a number of specific initiatives. All SBS services are subject to regular and rigorous evaluation.
	In Quarter One (April-June) this year, the Business Link network helped around 30,000 individuals and start-up businesses including 2,000 high-growth start-ups.
	An early assessment of the high-growth start-up initiative was completed in December 2000. This showed that:
	the initiative had already had a positive effect in developing a targeted approach to working with high-growth start-ups;
	considerable progress had been made in developing understanding of local markets and developing local/regional service offers;
	funding should be rolled forward to enable more detailed evaluation;
	support is being provided, across a variety of business sectors, to people who are traditionally considered to face barriers in starting and growing a business including women, ethnic minorities and young entrepreneurs. A full evaluation of this initiative has just commenced.
	An assessment of the Business Volunteer Mentors Association (BVMA) initiative was completed in March 2001. This showed that, despite the early stage of the programme:
	business mentoring plays an important role within the business support process. It provides the client with an on-going business relationship and a route to identifying and progressing entrepreneurial development needs. This is essential to SME development, especially at the pre and early start-up phase;
	clients were impressed with the quality of the volunteers and that mentoring could make a difference to their business;
	mentors were confident that they could make a difference to the businesses they were supporting;
	the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies, who co-ordinate the delivery of the BVMA initiative, were confident that the scheme could make a significant contribution to support services for pre and early start businesses.
	The Small Business Service is currently consulting on the development of a comprehensive strategy for supporting business start-ups. The consultation phase of developing the comprehensive strategy is to be completed by March 2002.
	A full evaluation of all Business Link services, including those for start-ups, is planned for 2002.
	The SBS is also monitoring the wider environment in which businesses start through its Think Small First indicators which will be published annually.

Business Links

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the funding of Business Links by area in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Nigel Griffiths: Business Links exist and operate only in England. There are 45 Business Link operators, appointed by the Small Business Service (SBS), operating in 45 designated areas throughout England.
	Business Link operators receive a grant from SBS in the form of a Core Services allocation, which funds the core business support services that the BL operator is obliged to deliver under the terms of their agreement. Other funding is provided by the SBS to deliver specialist services like the UK Online for Business, Local Partnership Fund and High Growth Start-ups programmes, these funds are allocated at regional level.
	The table provides a breakdown of Core Services allocations to BL operators by SBS area for the 200102 financial year.
	
		Core Services allocations 200102
		
			  Allocation () Percentage 
		
		
			 Total 130,000,000 100 
			
			 South East (6)   
			 Berkshire 2,322,684 1.8 
			 Sussex 4,165,051 3.2 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 4,660,054 3.6 
			 Kent 3,967,756 3.1 
			 Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire 3,772,524 2.9 
			 Surrey 3,386,962 2.6 
			 Total 22,275,032 17.1 
			
			 London (1)   
			 London 22,537,065 17.3 
			
			 East (6)   
			 Bedfordshire 1,438,456 1.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,888,331 1.5 
			 Essex 4,194,360 3.2 
			 Hertfordshire 2,982,289 2.3 
			 Norfolk 2,144,482 1.6 
			 Suffolk 1,829,953 1.4 
			 Total 14,477,870 11.1 
			
			 South West (6)   
			 Dorset 1,938,794 1.5 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4,161,670 3.2 
			 Gloucestershire 1,595,518 1.2 
			 Somerset 1,371,800 1.1 
			 West 2,528,148 1.9 
			 Wiltshire and Swindon 1,577,421 1.2 
			 Total 13,173,352 10.1 
			 West Midlands (6)   
			 Birmingham and Solihull 2,789,038 2.1 
			 Coventry and Warwickshire 2,029,638 1.6 
			 Herefordshire and Worcestershire 1,970,340 1.5 
			 Shropshire 1,159,965 0.9 
			 Staffordshire 2,502,982 1.9 
			 The Black Country 2,600,619 2.0 
			 Total 13,052,581 10.0 
			
			 East Midlands (5)   
			 Derbyshire 2,298,793 1.8 
			 Leicestershire 2,323,081 1.8 
			 Lincolnshire and Rutland 1,813,842 1.4 
			 Northamptonshire 1,562,786 1.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,388,656 1.8 
			 Total 10,387,158 8.0 
			
			 Yorkshire and The Humber (4)   
			 Humber 2,186,000 1.7 
			 North Yorkshire 2,144,061 1.6 
			 South Yorkshire 2,784,477 2.1 
			 West Yorkshire 4,893,163 3.8 
			 Total 12,007,701 9.2 
			
			 North West (7)   
			 Cheshire and Warrington 2,316,044 1.8 
			 Manchester CBS 3,509,113 2.7 
			 Cumbria 1,356,861 1.0 
			 East Lancashire 1,230,138 0.9 
			 North Manchester CBS 2,661,103 2.0 
			 Merseyside 3,264,255 2.5 
			 North and West Lancashire 2,315,636 1.8 
			 Total 16,653,150 12.8 
			
			 North East (4)   
			 County Durham 1,038,692 0.8 
			 Northumberland 754,893 0.6 
			 Tees Valley 1,355,003 1.0 
			 Tyne and Wear 2,287,504 1.8 
			 Total 5,436,092 4.2

Ministerial Visits

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list, with dates, the engineering companies (a) she and (b) her Ministers have visited since June.

Brian Wilson: My colleagues and I regularly meet representatives from engineering companies and engineering trade bodies, both in visits and at other times. I list the visits made by myself and my ministerial colleagues to engineering companies since June 2001.
	(a) Visits by the Secretary of State
	5 NovemberMG Rover
	10 DecemberIBC Vehicles Ltd.
	10 DecemberAstrium Ltd.
	10 DecemberMatra BAE Dynamics
	(b) Visits by other DTI Ministers
	23 JulyOptima InternationalNigel Griffiths
	30 AugustAGM BatteriesBrian Wilson
	21 SeptemberAireshelta Ltd.Lord Sainsbury
	5 OctoberFibrin (Humberside) Ltd.Alan Johnson
	9 OctoberGorham and Bateson Ltd.Nigel Griffiths
	9 NovemberTextron Power TransmissionAlan Johnson
	9 NovemberThe Marshall Group of CompaniesLord Sainsbury
	14 NovemberRolls-Royce plcBrian Wilson
	17 DecemberThales OptronicsBrian Wilson.

Business Receiverships (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have gone into receivership in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: Statistics of business receiverships are not available by year of receivership at the constituency level.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the public service agreement target on levels of energy, security, diversity, sustainability and competitive energy prices.

Brian Wilson: The public service agreement target to maintain or improve levels of energy security, diversity, sustainability and competitive prices has been updated for 200104:
	To develop strong, competitive markets within a regulatory framework which promotes fairness and sustainability. This was set out in HM Treasury's Public Service Agreements 200104 www.hmtreasurygov.uk/Documents/Public Spending and Services/PublicServiceAgreements200104
	The energy targets relating to this objective and the progress towards these targets are as follows:
	Targets 1. Ensure competitive gas and electricity prices in the lower half of the EU/G7 basket, while achieving security of supply and social and environmental objectives.
	2. Improve the environment and sustainable use of natural resources, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 per cent. from 1990 levels over the period 200812 and moving towards a 20 per cent. reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010 (Joint target with DEFRA).
	Progress
	Competitive energy prices: Overall, in 2000, based on the data available from the International Energy Agency, UK industrial and domestic gas prices, both including and excluding taxes, were in the lower half of the EU/G7 basket. UK domestic electricity prices, including taxes, were also in the lower half of the EU/G7 basket during 2000. However, industrial electricity and domestic, excluding taxes, electricity prices were not in the lower half of the EU/G7 basket. But figures for the UK show that electricity prices have fallen in 2001.
	Security: The Department monitors electricity supply through supply interruptions and lost time. Between 199697 and 19992000 both the number of interruptions and average time lost have declined. Oil stocks are also monitored, with a target to maintain national emergency oil stocks at, or above, levels required by international obligations. At the end of the third quarter of 2001 the UK held stocks equal to 70 days of consumption, compared with an obligation of 67.5 days.
	Diversity: The Department has a target to achieve 10 per cent. of electricity generated from renewable resources by 2010, subject to the costs to consumers being acceptable. In 2000, renewables accounted for 2.8 per cent. of electricity generated in the UK.
	Social: The Department has introduced a social target of fuel expenditure as a percentage of income (including housing benefit and income support for mortgage interest) for the lowest three income deciles to be reducing and below 5 per cent. by 200304. Over the last three years fuel expenditure as a percentage of income has been reducing and in 19992000 was 7 per cent.
	Sustainability/environment: Projections suggest that the UK is on course to meet its Kyoto commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent. by 20082012 from 1990 level. The Department is also on course to meet the sulphur dioxide emissions target of 80 per cent. below 1980 levels by 2010.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with the target on the unit cost of investigating bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases between 1999 and 2002.

Melanie Johnson: At the end of the last financial year, 31 March 2001, the unit cost of case investigation by the Insolvency Service had been reduced by 10.6 per cent.

Citizens Advice Line

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on funding for the Citizens Advice Line for London beyond March 2002.

Melanie Johnson: The Department does not provide funding for the Citizens Advice Line for London (CALL) general advice line. It has however provided time-limited funding support for a consumer helpline pilot run by CALL as one of three such pilots across England, each using different approaches. The pilot funding has always been time limited to March 2002.

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations were made to her by (a) her Irish counterpart and (b) the Irish Energy Minister, in respect of Sellafield, at the recent EU Energy Council; and what response was given.

Brian Wilson: None.

Departmental Expenditure

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessments she has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 200001 as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 200001: Provisional Outturn, for Vote IX Trade and Industry and Export Credit Guarantees Department subcategories (a) 1 Department of Trade and Industry: programmes and administration and (b) 2 Department of Trade and Industry: science; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The difference between the provisional and final voted outturn for financial year 200001 for Vote IX is within a reasonable margin of estimating error allowing for the uncertainties of export credit business.

Departmental Expenditure

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the reasons for the difference between the initial voted annually managed expenditure and provisional outturn for financial year 200001, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 200001: Provisional Outturn, for the Export Credit Guarantees Department and the self-financing public corporations categories; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: Annually managed expenditure mainly comprises the refinancing of bank export finance loans made by commercial banks under ECGD's guarantee. Such refinancing produces worthwhile savings to the taxpayer. The refinancing programme has been significantly increased during 200001. Some of the rise in AME is due to costs associated with refinancing, but these are more than offset by the savings.

Vibration White Finger

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) interim and (b) final payments were made between (i) 1 January and 1 July and (ii) 2 July and 1 December to vibration white finger claimants in St. Helens, South.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	IRISC, the Department's claims handlers, made 31 interim payments and 20 full and final payments amounting to 278,674 between 1 January and 1 July 2001 in the constituency of St. Helens, South for vibration white finger (VWF). Between 2 July and 1 December 2001, 34 interim payments and 28 full and final settlements were made, amounting to 342,762. There are 431 VWF claimants in total in this constituency.

Consumer Credit Act

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government plans to publish the summary of responses to its consultation document Modernising the Consumer Credit Act 1974; and what plans it has to take the review of the Act forward.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 13 December 2001
	DTI is currently analysing the many responses we received to our consultation paper Tackling loan sharksand more!

Miners' Compensation

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average final settlement figure in respect of chronic bronchitis and emphysema has been in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the United Kingdom via (i) the expedited route and (ii) the medical assessment process.

Brian Wilson: To date, the average expedited payment in Nottinghamshire is 2,804 and 4,107 nationally. The average settlement following the full medical assessment is 4,973 in Nottinghamshire and 5,416 nationally. The discrepancies between the regional and national figures reflect the variances of compensatable disabilities among claimants.

Depleted Uranium

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the (a) volume and (b) value of depleted uranium and products containing depleted uranium, imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1985; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 13 December 2001
	Data on imports of depleted uranium and depleted uranium products since 1985 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Depleted Uranium

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations there are to control the importation of (a) depleted uranium, (b) munitions containing depleted uranium and (c) other products containing depleted uranium; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 13 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2001, Official Report, column 587.

Sub-post Offices

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on whether new initiatives to support the sub-post office network are expected to be delivered within the planned timetable.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The 2 million Government fund to support volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or reopen post office facilities in rural areas came into operation in September. Development of funding proposals to implement the recommendations of the performance and innovation unit's report to help sustain and improve the Post Office network is continuing. The pilot of the Government Practitioner 'Your Guide' started in August. Work on other measures is well advanced. We have now received advice from the Postal Services commission on transitional financial assistance to rural post offices from 2003.

Small Print

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will investigate the size of the print used in setting out the terms and conditions of offers made by firms to the general public.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 3 December 2001
	We have no plans for such an investigation. Where an advertisement for an offer for goods or services is rendered misleading because relevant terms and conditions are illegible, it may breach the advertising industry's British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion. In that case the Advertising Standards Authority could direct the advertiser to amend or remove the advertisement. Furthermore, any price indicated to consumers which is rendered misleading as a result of illegible terms and conditions could be the subject of a criminal prosecution under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. In relation to standard consumer contracts, the Director General of Fair Trading has used his powers under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 to ensure that these are presented in print of acceptable size. In relation to offers for credit, under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in order for the terms of a consumer credit agreement to be enforceable they must be readily legible.

SMART Awards

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who is consulted in allocating SMART awards; who oversees their administration; and what measures are in place to ensure that SMART moneys are spent appropriately.

Nigel Griffiths: In allocating SMART awards for research and development in England the Department of Trade and Industry seeks advice from its own staff with knowledge of particular sectors of industry, from qualified accountants, from the Patent Office, which carries out patent searches, from other Government Departments and from the following external sources of technical expertise:
	AEA Technology plc
	BRE
	Capenhurst.tech Ltd.
	Chimaeron Ltd.
	EA Technology
	Health and Safety Laboratory
	The Institute of Materials
	Laboratory of the Government Chemist
	Maritime and Coastguard Agency
	Materials Engineering Research Laboratory Ltd.
	Medical Devices Agency
	National Computing Centre (NCC Services Ltd.)
	National Engineering Laboratory
	National Physical Laboratory
	Pera Innovation Ltd.
	PIRA International Ltd.
	QinetiQ
	TRL Ltd.
	SMART Feasibility Study and Development Project applications are administered and allocated by Government Offices for the Regions. Some SMART Micro Project applications are also administered by Government Offices for the Regions and others by the Small Business Service headquarters in London. By April 2002 all Micro Project applications will be administered by Government Offices for the Regions. SMART Technology Review and Technology Study applications are administered and allocated by the Small Business Service headquarters.
	All SMART projects and associated expenditure are carefully monitored by staff from Government Offices for the Regions or the Small Business Service against the project proposals for which the grants are awarded. Grant moneys are paid only in respect of eligible expenditure and only if the project makes satisfactory progress towards its objectives. Additionally, full payment of grant is withheld until the project is completed and an independent accountant has reported the total expenditure on the project and confirmed it was incurred for the purpose intended.

Seaside Resorts

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what guidance her Department has issued to regional development agencies on supporting seaside and coastal towns;
	(2)  which officials in her Department she has nominated as resort champions;
	(3)  what action her Department is taking to support the implementation of the English Tourism Council's Sea Changes report.

Alan Johnson: The Government have welcomed the publication of Sea Changes. The Department is very much aware of the regeneration and economic development needs of seaside resorts, given its responsibility for the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and for co-ordination of policy on the assisted areas and structural funds maps.
	We look to the RDAs to continue to develop and implement economic and regeneration strategies on a regional basis, working closely with other regional and local partners. In its guidance to the RDAs on preparing their Corporate Plans for 200204, the Department has specifically asked them to explain how they intend to work with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, local Regional Tourist Boards, and other regional, sub- regional and local authority bodies in the development and implementation of sustainable tourism strategies. The guidance makes clear that these strategies will need to include the promotion of coastal resort regeneration.
	The DTI has not nominated specific resort champions.

Seaside Resorts

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regional development agencies have nominated a board member to be a resort champion for that region; and if she will list (a) the regional development agencies which have done so and (b) the board members nominated.

Alan Johnson: The Regional Development Agencies have not nominated specific board members as resort champions. The DTI is not in a position to instruct RDAs in such detail as to how they should achieve their objectives. However, RDAs will continue to play an important role in the regeneration of seaside resorts.

New Electricity Trading Arrangements

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received in respect of the impact of the new electricity trading arrangements; what have been the concerns raised most frequently by these representations; and what plans she has for assessing the operation of the new electricity trading arrangements after a specified period of time.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	My officials and I have met with a large number of industry representatives on the impact of the new electricity trading arrangements (NETA). On the whole, NETA is seen to have been successful. Ofgem produced a report of the first three months of NETA and found that:
	Wholesale electricity prices are 20 to 25 per cent. below prices that would have been produced under the Pool.
	Market liquidity is established with a threefold increase in the volume of trades, and a doubling of the number of contracts struck compared to this time last year under the Pool.
	National Grid Company is working well to keep the electricity system in balance. Its daily costs of balancing the system have halved, which will also benefit customers.
	Ofgem will be conducting a full review of the first year's operation of NETA.
	A frequent concern that has been raised has been around the impact of the changes on smaller generators. At the request of DTI, Ofgem produced a report entitled a 'Review of the Initial Impact of NETA on Smaller Generators' on 31 August 2001. In response, DTI issued a consultation paper. I have received 41 responses to the Government's consultation. These responses are from a wide cross-section of industry, including representatives of the renewables and CHP sectors, suppliers of electricity and industry and environment associations. The responses to the consultation have raised a wide range of issues which Government will need to consider carefully. We will be publishing a full Government response to our consultation and a summary of responses.
	In the meantime, DTI and Ofgem have formed a working group to look urgently at the obstacles to consolidation services under NETA. The working group comprises a wide cross-section of industry.

Aluminium

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1049W, on the aluminium industry, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the UK will be affected by the downturn in world aluminium markets.

Brian Wilson: Alcan and Alcoa, the two largest employers in the UK aluminium industry, recently announced detailed proposals for restructuring their global operations as a result of recent falls in world demand for aluminium. This would result in a reduction of around 7 per cent. in the combined UK work forces of these two companies. Under these proposals two sites, Alcoa's Dolgarrog rolling mill and Alcan's Glasgow foil plant, would close completely with employee reductions at Alcan's Rogerstone mill. However Alcan's Bridgnorth plant would gain an extra 60 jobs and 13 million in investment. Industry assessments suggest that overall UK aluminium companies currently face low prices and profit margins, and that the market is likely to remain weak in the short to medium term.

Packaging Waste

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to run an advertising campaign to reduce packaging waste; and if she will make a statement.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) and The Packaging (Essential Requirements) 1998 Regulations provide the regulatory framework aimed at encouraging a reduction in packaging and packaging waste in England and Wales. These, and similar regulations in Northern Ireland and Scotland, are designed to allow the United Kingdom to fulfil the European Union obligations of Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
	These regulations encourage a reduction in packaging and packaging waste by setting demanding recovery and recycling targets along with requirements to discourage over-packaging. They also place financial burdens on business in relation to the weight of packaging they place on the market. Awareness of these regulations is already promoted by the Government and the enforcement agencies. This month the Commission has published a proposal to revise Directive 94/62/EC. The need for any future advertising campaign will be considered as part of the future implementation of the revised Directive.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Spending

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure was on (a) advertising, (b) polling, (c) focus groups, (d) design consultants, (e) caterers, (f) production of departmental publications and (g) photographs/photographers by his Department for each year since 1995 in (i) cash and (ii) real terms; what was (A) the annual percentage increase in spending on each category and (B) spending on each category as a percentage of the total departmental running costs; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: The Government are committed to using only whatever channel is judged to be the most cost- effective way to deliver the publicity necessary to support the implementation of policy.
	The following table sets out the Department's expenditure on advertising, caterers and production of departmental publications from 199697 to 200001. Expenditure for 199596 is not available.
	Expenditure on polling, focus groups, design consultants and photographs/photographers is not readily identifiable and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 Advertising () 6,471.80 5,127.70 7,572.60 11,275.60 27,321.90 
			 Percentage of departmental running costs 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.6 1.3 
			 Expressed in real terms at 200001 level () 7,133.00 5,495.70 7,890.80 11,487.70 27,321.90 
			   
			 Publication Production () 1,998.80 2,314.00 2,159.40 5,768.40 6,556.70 
			 Percentage of departmental running costs 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 
			 Expressed in real terms at 200001 levels () 2,203.00 2,480.10 2,250.10 5,876.90 6,556.70 
			 Caterers () 2,909.10 2,738.50 2,888.00 3,146.60 2,823.70 
			 Percentage of departmental running costs 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 
			 Expressed in real terms at 200001 levels () 3,206.30 2,935.00 3,009.30 3,205.80 2,823.70

Asylum Seekers

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the principles determining which local authority an asylum seeker will be referred to for housing assistance if they are recognised as a refugee or granted exceptional leave to remain.

Angela Eagle: Former asylum seekers who have received a positive decision on their application for asylum or who have been granted exceptional leave to remain are free to live where they choose within the United Kingdom. They can apply for housing assistance to any local authority.

Asylum Seekers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers living in the UK first entered the country in (a) 1990, (b) 1992, (c) 1994, (d) 1996, (e) 1998 and (f) 2000 and made application for asylum, and have yet to have their cases resolved.

Angela Eagle: I regret that the information requested is not readily available, and could be obtained only by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom lodged in the years above are shown in the table. However, it is not possible to determine in what year these applicants first entered the United Kingdom, or whether they are currently living in the United Kingdom.
	
		Applications for asylum in the UK, principal applicants
		
			 Year Asylum Applications(51) 
		
		
			 1990 26,205 
			 1992(52) 24,605 
			 1994 32,830 
			 1996 29,640 
			 1998 46,015 
			 2000(53),(54) 80,315 
		
	
	(51) Figures rounded to the nearest 5
	(52) Figures do not include overseas applications
	(53) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January and March 2000
	(54) Provisional figures
	The number of asylum cases awaiting initial decision as at 30 September was 43,000 (provisional, to the nearest 100). However, it is not possible to determine in what year these applicants were made. Information on asylum applications, initial decisions and applications awaiting initial decision is published regularly in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the RDS website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ immigration1.html.

Police Medical Retirements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, by police authority area, the number of officers who have retired on medical grounds in (a) 1990, (b) 1995, (c) 1996, (d) 1997, (e) 1998, (f) 1999 and (g) 2000; indicating in each case, and in each police authority area, the percentage this represents of total retirement.

John Denham: The requested data are given in the tables which have been placed in the Library.
	Many forces have made considerable reductions in the level of medical retirements in the last five years. However, as the tables show, the position varies considerably between forces.
	The Home Office has asked the Police Negotiating Board to explore and agree ways to deliver a fair and more consistent approach towards early retirement due to ill health, so that forces, can match the performance of the best quartile by 2005. We will be introducing a national occupational health strategy for the police service, which should assist forces to manage cases of ill-health more effectively at the outset.

Neighbourhood Warden Scheme (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been awarded for neighbourhood warden schemes in the Buckingham constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what targets have been set to reduce crime under the schemes.

John Denham: The neighbourhood and street wardens programme have funded a pilot programme of 85 neighbourhood warden schemes across England and Wales. These schemes can help to reduce crime and the fear of crime and deter anti-social behaviour. No applications were submitted from Buckingham and there are no schemes funded in the area. There is one neighbourhood warden scheme funded in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Police (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to visit the Buckingham constituency to meet police officers.

John Denham: I have no current plans to visit the Buckingham constituency.

Ministerial Visits (North-East)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times since November 2000 Ministers from his Department have visited (a) the Teesside area and (b) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency to meet locally based businesses.

David Blunkett: While the Home Office does have a clear remit in relation to security for businesses and the contribution they can make to the civil and social agenda being pursued by the Department, this is organised on a regional or sub-regional basis as well as nationally. It is therefore not possible to disaggregate those businesses that have been invited from the area to take part in such ventures. A number of Ministers did undertake visits on a political, as opposed to ministerial basis, in the early part of 2001.

Police Spending

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of spending on police resources on an average per capita basis is (a) nationally and (b) in the Buckingham constituency for the current financial year.

John Denham: The gross cost of policing on an average per capita basis in England and Wales in 200102 is estimated at 165.5. A figure at Buckingham constituency level is not available.
	Source:
	The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police Statistics (Estimates) 200102

External Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to his Department of the use of external consultants in each of the last four years.

David Blunkett: The available information held by my Department on cost for the use of external consultants over the last four financial years is as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 199798 7,627,016 
			 199899 4,588,445 
			 19992000 10,302,672 
			 200001 27,877,286 
		
	
	The increase in expenditure on consultancy in 200001 is primarily due to a major investment programme in the modernisation of the Home Office and in particular on IT related modernisation. This breakdown on expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			 200001  
		
		
			 IT related consultancy 12,550,540 
			 Non-IT related consultancy 15,326,746

Prison Officers

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers serving in prisons in England and Wales have been suspended from duty for more than 18 months owing to allegations as to their conduct for more than 18 months.

Beverley Hughes: There are currently eight prison officers suspended from duty for more than 18 months.

Criminal Courts Review

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to ensure that the views of students and young people are taken into account in the Government review of the criminal courts.

Keith Bradley: In the new year I shall be attending events at various university law schools with the aim of giving young people an opportunity to express their views on these issues. They can also participate by visiting the review website at: www.criminal-courts- review-org.uk.

Social Exclusion

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will list the competitive grant schemes, administered by the Home Office and its agencies, open in each year since 1997 to organisations in the voluntary and community sector for the purposes of tackling social exclusion; and, for each scheme in each year (a) the number of applicants, (b) the number of successful applicants, (c) the total of grants awarded, (d) the number of pages in the application form and (e) if the grant can be used to fund the core costs of the applicant organisation;
	(2)  how many competitive grant schemes, administered by his Department and its agencies, were open in each of the last 10 years to organisations in the voluntary and community sector for the purposes of tackling social exclusion;
	(3)  if he will publish a list of the grants made under the competitive grant schemes administered by his Department and its agencies open in each year since 1997 to organisations in the voluntary and community sector for the purposes of tackling social exclusion;
	(4)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the application form for each of the competitive grant schemes administered by his Department and its agencies open in each year since 1997 to organisations in the voluntary and community sector for the purposes of tackling social exclusion.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 12 December 2001
	This information is not centrally available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The hon. Member may, however, wish to note that information about grants from central Government is currently available in two recent publications, funded by the Home Office:
	Central Government Funding of Voluntary and Community Organisations 198283 to 19992000: ISBN 1 84082 6363; and
	A Guide to Funding from Government Departments and AgenciesSecond Edition: ISBN 1 900360 79, nine copies of which are available in the Library.

Crime Clear-up Rate

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average crime clear-up rate was in England and Wales in 200001, broken down by force; what assessment he has made of the reasons for the differences in crime clear-up rates between forces; and if he will make a statement.

John Denham: The proportion of crime detected was 24 per cent. in England and Wales in 200001. The following table shows the detection rate in each force and is taken from Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2000.
	
		
			 Police force area Percentages 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 22 
			 Bedfordshire 27 
			 Cambridgeshire 24 
			 Cheshire 30 
			 Cleveland 21 
			 Cumbria 34 
			 Derbyshire 26 
			 Devon and Cornwall 34 
			 Dorset 25 
			 Durham 34 
			 Essex 26 
			 Gloucestershire 31 
			 Greater Manchester 22 
			 Hampshire 29 
			 Hertfordshire 24 
			 Humberside 21 
			 Kent 28 
			 Lancashire 27 
			 Leicestershire 28 
			 Lincolnshire 25 
			 London, City of 27 
			 Merseyside 28 
			 Metropolitan police 15 
			 Norfolk 26 
			 Northamptonshire 33 
			 Northumbria 31 
			 North Yorkshire 30 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 
			 South Yorkshire 25 
			 Staffordshire 23 
			 Suffolk 35 
			 Surrey 28 
			 Sussex 23 
			 Thames Valley 22 
			 Warwickshire 22 
			 West Mercia 27 
			 West Midlands 28 
			 West Yorkshire 23 
			 Wiltshire 30 
			 England average 24 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 63 
			 Gwent 57 
			 North Wales 31 
			 South Wales 32 
			 Wales average 41 
		
	
	As Policing a New Century: a Blueprint for Reform makes clear, these variations are unacceptable. The Standards Unit will identify the variations and the causes of those variations in order to identify and spread best practice in crime detection.
	There are marked differences in detection rates for different types of offence. This is, in part, owing to the level of investigation that an offence merits although other factors will also play a part. For example, there are offences (such as harassment) where the victim may know the offender, which will increase probability of a detection. In general violent offences have a higher detection rate than crimes against property.
	Comparisons of detection rates for individual police forces may reflect differences in the circumstances of offences between areas and variations in recording practice.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he appointed an independent reviewer for the operation of anti-terrorism legislation; in what manner the announcement was made; and what are the terms of reference for this post.

David Blunkett: Lord Carlile of Berriew was appointed on 15 November in respect of the Terrorism Act 2000. The appointment was announced in response to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, West (Stephen Hesford).
	The reviewer's terms of reference are to review the working of the Terrorism Act 2000 considering whether (a) the Act has been used fairly and properly during the reporting period, taking into account the need to ensure that there are both effective powers to deal with terrorism and adequate safeguards for the individual; and (b) consider whether any of the temporary powers in Part VII of the Act can safely be allowed to lapse, and
	report to the Secretary of State in order that he can lay a report before both Houses of Parliament at least once every 12 months in accordance with section 126 of the Act.
	Some sections of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 amend the Terrorism Act 2000 and will be subject the same review provisions as that Act. It was announced during debate at Second Reading that the provisions relating to the detention of international terrorists would also be reviewed by the Terrorism Act reviewer.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Bill Rammell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the use of powers under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

David Blunkett: Earlier today, on the basis of certificates I signed under part 4 of the Act, following careful and detailed consideration, the Immigration Service detained eight foreign nationals whom I suspect to be international terrorists. They were detained earlier today and will be held in secure prison accommodation. I shall not disclose their names unless they themselves first do so.
	Part 4 of the Act gives me powers to issue a certificate in respect of someone whom I believe to be a risk to national security and suspect to be an international terrorist. The Act also gives powers for his deportation and, where his removal or departure from the United Kingdom is prevented (whether temporarily or indefinitely) for his detention.
	A person detained has the right to apply for bail to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which is a superior court of record under the Act. He may also appeal to the Commission to have the certificate cancelled. In these circumstances it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. A person detained is free to leave the United Kingdom at any time.
	I shall continue to keep the exercise of the powers in Part 4 of the Act under close review.

Custody Suites

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many boroughs in the United Kingdom with a population of between 40,000 and 60,000 do not have a police station with a full custody suite;
	(2)  what estimates he has made of the availability of custody suites in south-east England;
	(3)  what his policy is on the retention of custody suites in police stations;
	(4)  how many custody suites have been closed (a) completely and (b) in part in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years;
	(5)  what research his Department has carried out into the need for the provision of custody suites in urban areas.

Beverley Hughes: No information is collected centrally on either the number of boroughs in the United Kingdom with a population of between 40,000 and 60,000 who do not have a police station with a full custody suite, or the number of custody suites that have been closed in each of the last five years. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	There has been no research carried out by the Home Office into the need for the provision of custody suites in urban areas and there have been no estimates as to the availability of custody suites in south-east England.
	Forces have restructured over the last few years. Many have centralised to either basic command unit level or geographically based custody suites. This is in order to ensure consistency in the quality of custody suites both in terms of facilities and the skill levels of staff. It can also produce resource savings by reducing the number of locations at which custody facilities and support services need to be provided.
	It is an operational decision for chief officers of police to determine the number and location of custody facilities/police cells required by his/her force.

Criminal Justice

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Criminal Justice Cabinet Committee met to discuss the recommendations of the Halliday review of sentencing and the Auld review of the criminal courts; when he intends to publish his proposals based on the reviews; whether it is the intention to publish draft legislation based on the review; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Bradley: The Criminal Justice System Cabinet Committee meets from time to time to discuss the delivery of the Government's policies for management and reform of the criminal justice system.
	As I announced in a written answer on 21 November 2001, Official Report, column 356W, the level of interest in the Halliday review of sentencing has been considerable and a significant number of comments have been received in response to the public consultation exercise. Officials are now analysing the responses and a summary will be published, with copies in the Library, at the end of January. A Government response will be published at the same time.
	Sir Robin Auld's review of the criminal courts is subject to a period of comment until 31 January 2002. The Government intend to publish their response to this and to publish legislation in draft later that year.

Operation Shield

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the progress of Operation Shield in the Newark and Retford area.

John Denham: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has made no formal assessment of Operation Shield, Nottinghamshire police's initiative to reduce violent crime, in the Newark and Retford area. But we applaud the determination of Nottinghamshire police, as evidenced by Operation Shield, to tackle violent and hate crime vigorously.

Police Officers (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers where available for ordinary duty on 30 November in the London borough of Havering.

John Denham: I am told by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that on 31 October, the latest date for which information is available, there were 323 police officers available for duty in the Havering Division.
	Havering Division also had 83 civilian support staff at the end of October.

Public Service Agreements

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards the Public Service Agreement target for reducing the economic costs of crime.

Keith Bradley: There are a wide range of economic and social costs associated with crime, not all of which are easy to measure, but the Criminal Justice Departments have jointly developed an indicator of the economic and social costs of crime as part of the Public Service Agreement commitment. The methodology used to measure the economic and social cost of crime were published in a report in December 2000, The economic and social costs of crime (Home Office Research Study 217).

Crime (Romford)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce the level of street robbery in Romford.

John Denham: We are determined to reduce the number of robberies across the country as a whole. That is why we have given the five metropolitan forces, including the Metropolitan police, an additional 20 million specifically to assist their efforts in tackling robbery, and have set them the challenging target of a 14 per cent. reduction of robbery in our principal cities by March 2005. We are working with those forces, as well as progressing an extensive robbery research programme, to enable us to identify good practice in tackling robbery which we will ensure is disseminated to all forces.
	We have launched a national initiative with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the mobile phone industry to crack down on robbery of mobile phones. We have also published a Robbery Toolkit which is available to all forces and those involved in crime reduction and community safety and will help them to work as effectively as possible in tackling robbery.

Safe From Harm

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to update the Safe from Harm guidance booklet published by his Department.

Angela Eagle: We have no such plans. Separate guidance has already been issued about the recent legislation which I believe my hon. Friend has in mind.

UK Citizenship

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the norms of acceptability those from ethnic minorities seeking citizenship of the UK should be expected to adopt.

Angela Eagle: The requirements for British nationality are currently under review and the Government will announce their conclusions in a forthcoming asylum, immigration and nationality White Paper.

Cyclists

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance relating to the penalties imposed upon cyclists who ride through red traffic lights.

John Denham: No. There are guidelines in the Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines, published by the Magistrates Association in September 2000, covering the penalty for failing to comply with red traffic lights. These apply to cyclists as to all other vehicles covered by the relevant offence.

Parenting Orders

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers have (a) the police and (b) local authorities to issue parenting orders; and if she will make a statement.

John Denham: There are no powers for the police or local authorities to impose a parenting order. It is a civil order available to family proceedings courts and criminal courts including youth courts. It can be imposed if a child has offended, or following a conviction of their parents for failure to secure their child's regular attendance at school.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last reviewed the operation of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; and if it met its target in respect of applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

Angela Eagle: The work of Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) is under constant review to ensure that it meets the priorities which we have set for it. In the year 200001 the Integrated Casework Directorate made 281,000 general casework decisions which exceeded its numerical targets. This year it is again on course to exceed its numerical target. However, in the light of very heavy intake it is not currently meeting targets on turnaround times. We are looking at ways of improving the latter performance.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the application from Ms Tetyana Vasylchenko, a constituent, of Southern Road, Cheltenham, for an extension to her visa to study in the United Kingdom, will be logged on the system of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; and when he expects a decision to be made on her application.

Angela Eagle: Ms Vasylchenko's application was received on 13 November and registered on the General Settlement Case Information Database on 16 November. She was granted a further extension of stay in the United Kingdom as a student on 3 December.

Council of Ministers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long in advance he receives agendas for meetings of the EU Council of Ministers.

Angela Eagle: The Council Rules of Procedure state that provisional agendas for meetings of the European Union Council of Ministers, which are drawn up by the Presidency, must be sent to other members of the Council and the Commission at least 14 days before meetings take place. A statement attached to the rules of procedure provides that, for Councils dealing with Justice and Home Affairs issues, the President shall endeavour to ensure that the provisional agenda and any documents reach members of the Council at least 21 days before the beginning of the meeting. Provisional agendas are divided into two parts, part A, where items are adopted without discussion, and part B, items for substantive discussion.
	For recent Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meetings, part A of the agenda, crucial to the domestic parliamentary scrutiny process, has not recently been provided within the 14 days stipulated by the Council Rules of Procedure. For example, prior to the JHA Council on 6 and 7 December, my officials did not receive part A of the agenda until three days before the meeting took place. Delays such as this, which are outside our control, have made it impossible for the Department to provide more timely information to the Scrutiny Committees.
	Despite this, there were no scrutiny overrides at the recent JHA Council on 67 December.

Blantyre House

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug tests have been undertaken on inmates at Blantyre house in the last 12 months; and how many were undertaken in the preceding 12 months.

Beverley Hughes: The number of drug tests carried out at Blantyre house for the period requested, is set out in the table.
	
		
			  1 November 1999 to 30 October 2000 1 November 2000 to 30 October 2001 
		
		
			 Number of:   
			 Mandatory tests 149 152 
			 Voluntary tests 989 2,150 
		
	
	Of the total tests conducted in 19992000, five tests (0.44 per cent) and in 200001 eight tests (0.35 per cent) were positive. The random testing programme for the same period reported levels of 1.5 per cent. and 2.2 per cent. respectively.

Metropolitan Police

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the Metropolitan Police Authority's oversight of the work of the Metropolitan Police Service since June 2000.

John Denham: As with any other police authority, it is the statutory responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Authority to ensure that the Metropolitan Police Service provides efficient and effective policing within the metropolitan police district. All police authorities are subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Audit Commission in respect of their responsibilities under the Best Value provisions of the Local Government Act 1999, and police authorities are ultimately accountable to me for the way in which they meet these duties.

Criminal Justice Units

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the levels of staffing and IT provision in the Police Services' Criminal Justice Units on a regional basis.

John Denham: There are no plans to develop criminal justice units on a regional basis. The staffing levels and other resources provided for criminal justice units by police forces are matters for the professional judgment of chief officers of police. The overall resourcing for criminal justice units is a matter for local agreement.

Correspondence

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to answer the letters from the right hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East of 9 July and 19 November about Mr. Fuat Altunyurt.

Angela Eagle: I wrote to the hon. Member on 18 December 2001. I am sorry I did not send an earlier reply.

Police Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to police forces for purchasing (a) cars and (b) vans.

John Denham: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 20 July 2001, Official Report, column 648W.

Photocard Passports

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the findings of the technical feasibility study into photocard passports.

Angela Eagle: The results of the United Kingdom's Passport Service's studies into the planned introduction of a passport card will be published in due course.

Blakenhurst Prison

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the running of HMP Blakenhurst since it was taken back into public sector control.

Beverley Hughes: The management of Blakenhurst prison was handed over to the Prison Service on 19 August 2001. None of the formal inspections or assessments of performance have been made of the prison's management since that date. However, the prison has operated smoothly.
	Assessments of HMP Blakenhurst
	All prisons, whether privately managed or directly managed, are subject to the following ongoing assessments:
	HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP)
	HMCIP inspected Blakenhurst under UKDS management three times: in May 1984, October 1998 and January 2001. Blakenhurst is not scheduled for inspection in 200102 and the new schedule for 200203 will not be finalised till May 2002. However, the Inspectorate also carry out unannounced inspections.
	Standards and Security Audits
	The Area Manager is currently negotiating with the Standards Audit Unit with a view to arranging an audit in late summer or early autumn 2002. The last such audit was in May 1999.
	Board of Visitors (BoV)
	BoVs report annually. The Blakenhurst BoV cycle is to report on the year ending in June.
	Additional Service Level Agreement (SLA) Assessment
	Monthly reports on compliance with the SLA are issued by the on-site Compliance Monitor; and
	Regular SLA audits carried out at the prison by members of Contracts and Competition Group. The next audit at Blakenhurst is scheduled for August 2002.

Extradition Arrangements (Spain)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Spanish authorities concerning the extradition of UK nationals.

Bob Ainsworth: There have been no recent discussions with the Spanish authorities concerning the extradition of United Kingdom nationals specifically. However, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary met the Spanish Minister of Justice on 23 November to sign a bilateral treaty on fast-track judicial surrender, which would apply to all nationals.

Prisons (Performance)

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for identifying and improving poorly performing prisons.

Beverley Hughes: On 12 January the then Minister of State, Home Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng), announced the intention to develop a performance testing scheme, under which poorly performing prisons would be identified and required to develop a plan for improvement within a fixed period; if the plan was acceptable, the prison would operate under a Service Level Agreement with strict monitoring of delivery against its proposals; if unacceptable, the prison would face closure or contracting out to the private sector.
	The Director General has selected two establishments, Her Majesty's Prison Leicester and Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre Reading, for performance testing. They will be given six months to produce proposals for a much improved level of service.

Terrorism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on projects planned under section 7 of the Ghent Statement on Terrorism.

Peter Hain: I have been asked to reply.
	The objective of developing and consolidating democracy and the rule of law as part of the EU's common foreign and security policy is set out in Article 11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Both prior to and post-11 September, the EU has been active in projects restoring and maintaining the rule of law.
	For example, the EU is conducting a police training mission to bolster the rule of law and management of state borders in Albania. Other examples include EU projects in Georgia (together with OSCE) and Bosnia. Following 11 September, other projects are currently under consideration.
	The Gothenburg European Council in June 2001 identified four areas of work for civilian crisis management including rule of law, policing and civil administration. Under the Belgian presidency, the Police Capabilities Commitment Conference in November 2001 confirmed that the EU had met its target of up to 5,000 police officers deplorable for peacekeeping operations on international missions by 2003. The Laeken European Council in December 2001 also noted progress on the other areas of work and mandated the incoming Spanish presidency with taking them forward in order to meet the 2003 targets established at Gothenburg.

Police Complaints Authority

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make a new appointment to the Police Complaints Authority.

John Denham: I have appointed a new full-time member to the Police Complaints Authority. The appointment will be for three years. The new member is:
	Name: Marcus Williams
	Start date: 3 December 2001
	Previous position: Department of Trade and Industry.

Security Service

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the position is on certificates, under section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 concerning the Security Service; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: On 10 December, I signed a new certificate describing in general terms the personal data that the Security Service may process that requires exemption under the Data Protection Act 1998 on the grounds of safeguarding national security. I have placed a copy of that certificate together with the public reasons for my signing it in the Library.
	The new certificate takes account of the comments made by the National Security panel of the Information Tribunal in their determination on 1 October in respect of the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker). The new certificate supersedes the one quashed by the Tribunal in that appeal.

Charity Commission

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the Charity Commission's Departmental Expenditure Limit and administration costs for 200102.

Angela Eagle: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the Charity Commission Department Expenditure Limit will be increased by 631,000 from 22,161,000 to 22,792,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by 631,000 from 20,852,000 to 21,483,000. Within the Department Expenditure Limit change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the table:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 Resources  
			 Change 631,000 
			 New DEL 21,463,000 
			 Of which:  
			 Voted 21,463,000 
			 Non-voted 0 
			   
			 Capital  
			 Change 0 
			 New DEL 1,329,000 
			 Of which:  
			 Voted 1,329,000 
			 Non-voted 0 
		
	
	The change in the resource element of the Departmental Expenditure Limit arises from the take-up of 631,000 in respect of administration costs end year flexibility arrangements. The total increase in administration costs is 631,000.
	The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

Criminal Incidents (London Buses)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) criminal incidents were reported as occurring on London buses and (b) arrests have been made in (i) Havering and (ii) Greater London as a whole, in the past 12 months.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	Since January 2001 6,887 criminal incidents have been reported to London Buses, including assaults on staff and passengers. However, many incidents go unreported. There are also a number of incidents reported to the police which London Buses are unaware of.
	Figures for criminal incidents on buses for individual boroughs are not currently available.
	Within the Greater London area there were 1,202 arrests at the end of October for arrests for criminal incidents on the transport network as a whole.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Kirkham and Wesham Station

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the reasons for Railtrack's inability to honour the commitment made in September 2000 to co-fund with Lancashire county council the building of a lift at Kirkham and Wesham station.

John Spellar: Railtrack's decision, taken before it went into administration, followed the conclusion of the Rail Regulator's periodic review of the company's access charges. The Rail Regulator and the Strategic Rail Authority have subsequently confirmed that Railtrack is only funded to provide like for like replacement under its repair and maintenance obligation at franchised stations.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish statistics on the delays attributed to Railtrack over the last four weeks, compared with the four weeks before 5 October.

John Spellar: Railtrack have provided the following data for the four weeks before and after 5 October.
	
		
			 Week ending Railtrack direct delay minutes 
		
		
			 15 September 2001 163,048 
			 22 September 2001 148,205 
			 29 September 2001 172,638 
			 06 October 2001 183,157 
			 13 October 2001 227,163 
			 20 October 2001 203,454 
			 27 October 2001 204,175 
			 03 November 215,649

Railtrack

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff have left Railtrack, broken down by grade since Railtrack was put into administration; what changes there have been in the number of delayed trains in each of the five weeks (a) prior to and (b) since administration; and what estimate has been made of the amount of funding to be allocated to Railtrack during the administration period, indicating how much capital investment has been allocated for each project.

David Jamieson: The management of Railtrack plc during administration is a matter for the administrator. The Government have provided adequate funding to enable the administrator to discharge his responsibilities and has stressed to him the importance of retaining and motivating key staff.
	My Department does not receive regular reports on the number of train delays. Information on total delay minutes attributable to Railtrack was provided by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport in his reply given today to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) (PQ 19961), at column 493W.
	As the length of the administration is unknown, it is not possible to estimate the amount that will be required to fund Railtrack plc in administration.

Railtrack

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which aspects of Railtrack Group plc's (a) operations and (b) assets he considers to be core business; and which aspects of its operations have been classified as public interest.

David Jamieson: The core business of Railtrack Group plc is the provision of railway network services. It is for the administrator to consider what assets are required for the management of the network. It is in the public interest for the network to be managed safely, efficiently and effectively.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what applications he has made for state aid approvals as outlined in section 8.1.10 of the commercial loan agreement with the Railtrack administrator; and for what amounts.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State submitted an application for state aid approval on 28 November 2001. The premature release of the figures may prejudice the administrator's orderly release of commercially sensitive information in detailed discussions with potential bidders for Railtrack plc.

Railtrack

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the weekly rates of remuneration of the administrator of Railtrack are.

John Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 5 December 2001, Official Report, column 383W.

Railtrack

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much Railtrack has incurred in penalty charges for delays and cancellations since being placed into administration; and what the figure was for the same period in 1997.

David Jamieson: This is a commercial matter between Railtrack and train operating companies.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 558W, on Railtrack, what estimates the Railtrack administrator has given him of the amounts likely to be drawn down under the working capital facility by 1 April 2002;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 558W, on Railtrack, what representations he has received from the Railtrack administrator about likely draw downs under this facility before 15 April 2002; and from which departmental and Government budgets the sum has been drawn.

David Jamieson: It is estimated that 211 million will be required to 31 March 2002, but this figure is under constant review. The facility is part of the loan agreement and is not a call upon the departmental budgets.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guarantees he has received from the Railtrack administration that funds will be available at the end of the administration period to repay the loans drawn down under the commercial loan agreement.

David Jamieson: None have as yet been asked for.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answers of 11 December 2001, ref 18945 and 18957, Official Report, column 782W when he expects the administrator to complete this review and make detailed representations to the SRA and the Department.

David Jamieson: The nature and timing of the review of Railtrack's expenditure needs is a matter for the administrator, acting in accordance with his duties to the High Court.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, ref 21485, if the management accounts revealed major variances between the budget and actual results.

David Jamieson: I am informed that this information is market sensitive.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 556W, on what dates his Department had discussions with the Treasury about Railtrack administration between 1 October and 30 October.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to which he refers.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 438W, on Railtrack, for what reason the provision of a drafting date is exempt from disclosure.

David Jamieson: The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information makes clear that information on internal opinion, advice, recommendation, consultation and deliberation is exempt from disclosure.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, ref 21487, what requirement the management accounts reveal for further draw downs of the facility.

David Jamieson: Draw down requirements are covered in 8.1.6 (h) of the Loan Agreement.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 558W, on Railtrack, if he will list the consents applied for by the administrator.

David Jamieson: The train protection and warning system; the Leeds First project; and the Thameslink Advanced Signal Works.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the sources from which funds could be obtained to secure the repayment of loans drawn down under the commercial agreement.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for the administrator.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answers of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 558W, for what reason a repayment has been made.

David Jamieson: Repayments have been as a result of the working capital cash sweep.

Railtrack

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the decision not to create RenewCo led to Railtrack entering administration; and for what reason his Department did not implement the Renewco agreement.

David Jamieson: No, Railtrack plc entered into administration because it was, or shortly would be, unable to meet its debt liabilities. The decision not to proceed with RenewCo was taken following advice from the ONS that the proposed RenewCo structure would classify in the public sector and as a result did not satisfy the conditions agreed on 2 April and in light of Railtrack's directors being informed of the decision on 5 October to reject their 'Project Rainbow' proposal for additional funds.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of the funding requirement for Railtrack in the period to 31 March 2002 will come from sources other than funds covered by the commercial loan agreement; and if he will list these alternative sources.

David Jamieson: Railtrack plc in administration continues to receive funding to the level and profile determined in the regulator's October 2000 periodic review and the 2 April agreement. This incorporates income from track access charges, network grants and 'single-till' sources. It is not possible at this stage to speculate what proportion of overall income this constitutes.

Railtrack

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 1015W, in what circumstances he will increase the funding provided for in the commercial loan agreement, as provided for in sections 9.1, 2.1 and 2.2.

David Jamieson: Any request by the administrator for increased funding would be considered on its merits, taking into account the circumstances pertaining at the time of the request.

Railtrack

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority (i) has taken and (ii) plans to take to change the nature and level of constraints placed upon the sale of strategic land and property by Railtrack; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Under the modification to Condition 26 of its network licence, which came into effect on 15 November, Railtrack plc must now seek the rail regulator's specific consent in important cases of the disposal of land that may be used for railway purposes. The purpose of the new licence condition is to ensure that those parts of the Railtrack property portfolio which may be required for the future development of the railway are retained for that purpose.

Road Spending

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 22 November 2001, Official Report, columns 38687W, on roads (Surrey), if he will provide similar figures for each (a) county, (b) unitary authority and (c) metropolitan area in England and Wales.

David Jamieson: The provision made for capital expenditure on local major road schemes and maintenance of local roads and bridges, and revenue funding for structural and routine maintenance of non-principal roads and routine maintenance of principal roads in each local authority in England in the period 199697 to 200102 is set out in the tables which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Information on expenditure on roads in each local authority in England in 199596 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The tables exclude provision for expenditure in 200102 on roads and road related schemes in London, the responsibility for which has transferred to the Mayor for London. Expenditure on roads and road related schemes in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.

Road Spending

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether he is planning changes to the amount allocated to roads under the 10-year plan.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 9W.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many new carriages will be ordered by London Underground by 2006 under PPP;
	(2)  how many new carriages were ordered by London Underground between (a) 1992 and 1997 and (b) 1997 and 2001.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground (LU) who inform me that since 1992 carriages have been ordered and brought into service as follows.
	
		
			  New carriages ordered  New carriages brought into service 
		
		
			 1993 354  
			 1995 636  
			 1997  First Jubilee line stock 
			 1998  First Northern line stock 
			 2001  Last Jubilee and Northern line stock 
		
	
	(55) 59 Jubilee line trains
	(56) 106 Northern line trains
	Under the modernisation plans, three infrastructure companies will work under contract to London Underground and will be required to deliver a comprehensive programme of investment to improve track, signals and stations as well as trains. The infrastructure companies will be responsible for ordering new carriages required for them to achieve the standards set by London Underground. I understand that details of the infrastructure companies' plans will be made public once the competitions have been completed.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what advice his Department has received from the Treasury about the phasing of infrastructure projects on London Underground under PPP.

David Jamieson: Treasury and DTLR officials are in regular contact about various aspects of the PPP. London Underground are responsible for negotiating the PPP contracts, including the phasing of infrastructure projects.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many trains are running per hour on the Jubilee line at peak times.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who inform me that, in peak hours, 24 trains per hour are running on the Jubilee line.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if the Jubilee Line is operating at the service levels originally envisaged; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The original contract between London Underground and Westinghouse Signals Ltd. was to deliver a signalling system with a long term operating capacity of 36 trains per hour (tph) and a fallback capacity of 27 tph in the event that the development of the advanced signalling system failed to meet the contract programme. It was necessary to implement fallback arrangements utilising existing technology to deliver a system capable of supporting 24 tph.

London Underground

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the cost of additional rail inspectors under the PPP arrangements for London Underground.

David Jamieson: Under the underground modernisation plans, the infrastructure companies will be required to bring all assets up to a satisfactory standard, including rails. London Underground will be responsible for managing the contracts with the infrastructure companies. The Health and Safety Executive will be responsible for safety regulation and enforcement, through HM Railway Inspectorate. The Secretary of State has therefore made no assessment of the cost of rail inspectors.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, columns 3738W, on London Underground, if he will publish line-by-line figures for London Underground (a) predicted average passenger journey time and (b) passenger excess journey time for (i) each year since 199899 and (ii) the whole of 200102 to date.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have provided the information in the table showing scheduled journey time and excess journey time for each full financial year from 199899, and for the period 1 April to 10 November 2001.
	
		London Undergroundscheduled journey time (minutes) and excess journey time (minutes), by line
		
			199899  19992000  200001  (57)200102  
			   Schedule Excess Schedule Excess Schedule Excess Schedule Excess 
		
		
			 Bakerloo 24.08 5.17 24.24 5.77 27.09 7.28 27.15 7.36 
			 Central 33.58 6.98 33.50 6.35 32.56 5.53 32.55 4.42 
			 District 27.88 3.74 27.60 4.58 27.73 5.67 27.72 5.35 
			 East London 22.78 3.09 24.89 3.91 20.93 2.83 20.83 1.83 
			 Jubilee 24.30 3.26 23.77 4.64 25.40 6.04 25.43 6.17 
			 Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City 31.17 5.49 31.67 6.71 31.18 7.91 30.85 8.48 
			 Northern 29.01 5.47 29.03 4.68 28.83 4.76 28.83 5.14 
			 Piccadilly 30.72 6.50 30.47 5.89 30.54 6.22 30.89 6.51 
			 Victoria 22.17 4.77 22.40 5.13 22.38 6.48 22.38 5.56 
			 Waterloo and City 9.81 0.48 9.41 0.52 9.40 0.73 9.41 0.95 
		
	
	(57) From 1 April to 10 November

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 623W, on London Underground, for what reason his Department allowed London Underground to give a waiver to senior LU managers in regard to a legal challenge by infrastructure companies and bidders; and if the waiver will extend to such a challenge by a member of the public.

David Jamieson: London Underground is responsible for managing the competitions for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure.
	I understand that, as is common in such transactions, the legal documents for effecting the transfer of the infrastructure companies to the bidders contain various limitations on the bidders' ability to make claims against London Underground, including in relation to information disclosed by London Underground as part of the bid process. Although considered unlikely, it is possible that a bidder could seek to make a claim against an employee of London Underground rather than the company itself. Since employees are insured against such claims by London Underground, the effect would be to circumvent the intended cap on London Underground's liability. London Underground therefore intends to include a waiver in relation to claims by a bidder against employees of London Transport, London Underground or the infrastructure companies.
	As stated in my answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 623W, the wavier will not prevent legal action by London Transport or London Underground against their own employees. Nor will it extend to potential claims by a member of the public.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 38W, on London Underground, if he will publish the average annual percentage of peak hour trains that ran on each line of the London Underground for the whole of 200102 to date.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have provided the information set out in the table, showing the percentage of trains in peak service for the period 1 April to 10 November 2001. The figures take account of all cancellations including those due to factors beyond LUL's control, such as security alerts and passenger action.
	
		Percentage of trains in peak service (1 April to 10 November 2001)
		
			 Line Percentage 
		
		
			 Bakerloo 93.0 
			 Central 96.0 
			 Circle 91.3 
			 District 93.0 
			 East London 96.8 
			 Hammersmith and City 93.8 
			 Jubilee 96.0 
			 Metropolitan 93.7 
			 Northern 98.7 
			 Piccadilly 91.8 
			 Victoria 98.5 
			 Waterloo and City 97.8 
			  
			 Total LUL 95.0

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the merits of establishing a not- for-profit company to run London Underground.

John Spellar: The Government considered all of the options for the future of the tube prior to the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement of the way forward in March 1998including the possibility of a not-for-profit private sector trust.
	There is no need for a not-for-profit solution for the underground. Public sector London Underground will continue to be responsible for running the railway. The operation of track, signals, trains and stations will remain in public hands. The public sector will also be responsible for managing the contracts to maintain and improve the tube.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many potential bidders for the London Underground PPP (a) asked for documents to consider bidding and (b) sent in a bid.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the Tube infrastructure. I understand that six applications to pre-qualify were received for the BCV and JNP contracts, and that four bidders submitted bids (two for both contracts). Four applications to pre-qualify were received for the SSL contract and three bids were submitted.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who will be responsible for safety in the PPP plan for London Underground.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. London Underground, in the public sector, will remain responsible for safety across the single unified system. As the operator of the trains and the infrastructure controller, London Underground is required to have a statutory safety case in accordance with the Railway (Safety Case) Regulations 2000. In addition to general health and safety law, the infrastructure companies will be required to comply with a contractual safety case. The independent Health and Safety Executive will remain responsible for safety regulation and enforcement.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his estimate is of the costs incurred by the bidders for the London Underground PPP in preparing the bids.

John Spellar: No such estimate has been made.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans the Government have to build new underground lines.

John Spellar: This is a matter for the Mayor for London to consider in the context of his transport strategy. He will need to liaise closely with the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that plans for London Underground effectively complement the development of the national rail network.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what public money the Government are promising in each of the first three years to each of the planned infracos for London Underground.

John Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 11 May 2001, Official Report, column 379W.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if the costs of preparing bids for the London Underground PPP are an allowable cost against corporation tax.

John Spellar: The costs of preparing bids are treated for taxation purposes in the same way as any other cost.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what alternative to a PPP the Government are evaluating for London Underground.

John Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) on 19 November 2001, Official Report, column 33W.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many firms of consultants (a) the Government and (b) London Underground has used on London Underground matters in the last two years.

John Spellar: As to part (a) of the question the Department has used Ove Arup (advice in respect of Jubilee Line extension project), Herbert Smith (legal advice), Maggie Leates (pensions advice) and Ernst  Young (currently reviewing London Underground's value for money evaluation of the tube modernisation plans).
	As to part (b) this is an operational matter for London Underground.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions who has overall responsibility for (a) policy, (b) performance and (c) funding of London Underground.

John Spellar: The London Regional Transport Act 1984 sets out the framework for the current operation of London Regional Transport, the parent company of London Underground Ltd., and its subsidiaries.
	Responsibility for London Underground Ltd. policy lies with the board of London Regional Transport, which is appointed by the Secretary of State. The board's policies must accord with principles from time-to-time approved by the Secretary of State.
	Responsibility for performance also lies with the board of London Regional Transport, and is encapsulated in its general duty to provide a rail service for Greater London with due regard to transport needs, efficiency, economy and safety of operation.
	In respect of funding, the Secretary of State may, with the consent of Treasury, make grants to London Regional Transport (for any purpose and on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit). It is the duty of London Regional Transport to apply those sums to aid capital investment or operating costs in respect of the public passenger transport services it provides (including its subsidiaryLondon Underground Ltd.).

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is in the Public Expenditure budget for London Underground in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203; and how much of the total is provision for capital spending.

John Spellar: Parliament has approved provision of 520 million for London Underground in 200102.
	The financial requirements of London Underground in 200203 will not finally be known until negotiations with bidders for the Tube modernisation plans have been completed. The Government have made it clear that, as long as the final bids represent value for money, Transport for London will receive the appropriate level of central Government grant to allow for London Underground's need to make payments to the contractors.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what requirements the Government have requested of bidders for London Underground with respect to new capital investment.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the Tube infrastructure. The contracts will require the infrastructure companies to deliver increased capacity, improved reliability and higher quality infrastructure.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if the Government will reimburse part of the costs of (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful bidders for the London Underground PPP.

John Spellar: The Government will not reimburse the costs of either unsuccessful or successful bidders. However, the successful bidder on each competition will reimburse 90 per cent. of the eligible costs of unsuccessful bidders, up to a maximum of 7 million. In addition, London Underground has agreed to compensate bidders if the competition should be terminated for reasons other than bids not representing value for money. On the two deep Tube competitions, the preferred bidder will receive up to 12 million, with up to 7 million available for the reserve bidder. On the sub-surface line competition, where three bidders were short-listed, they will receive up to 7 million each.
	In the event of the competitions being terminated because no bid is adjudged to represent value for money, then no compensation is payable.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much has been spent to date by the Government on advisory fees for the PPP for London Underground.

John Spellar: The Department has employed Ernst and Young to carry out a review of London Underground's value for money evaluation of the Tube modernisation plans. No payments have yet been made under the contract.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what are the respective roles of (a) the Secretary of State, (b) the Mayor's Office, (c) Transport for London, (d) the Government Office for London and (e) London Underground Ltd. in the creation of policy and management of the London Underground.

John Spellar: Under the London Regional Transport Act 1984, the role of the Secretary of State is to set principles from time to time, with which London Regional Transport's general dutyto provide rail servicesmust accord. In addition, the Secretary of State has other roles including specific purposes such as issuing approvals, consents, determinations and directions to London Regional Transport. The Secretary of State may also with the consent of Treasury, make grants to London Regional Transport, which in turn can be applied to aid capital investment and operating costs in respect of its subsidiary, London Underground Ltd. The Government Office for London is part of the Government.
	Under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in the transitional period until London Underground Ltd. is transferred to Transport for London, the Mayor of London, Transport for London and London Underground Ltd. are required to consult and co-operate with each other.
	The role of London Underground Ltd. is to provide such railway services as London Regional Transport requires in pursuance of its statutory duty under section 2(1) of the London Regional Transport Act 1984,
	to provide or secure the provision of public passenger transport services for Greater London by railway.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the length in pages of an infraco franchise agreement for London Underground.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. I understand that the core contract for each of the three infrastructure companies is approximately 100 pages long. In addition there are a number of detailed supporting and related documents.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what financial guarantees the Government will seek from bidders for the London Underground infracos.

John Spellar: London Underground has carried out a thorough evaluation of the bidding consortia to ensure that they are financially robust and capable of meeting their obligations under the tube modernisation contracts.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the deadline was for submitting bids for the London Underground PPP; and what the Government's estimate is of when a decision on the bids will be announced.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. Bidders are required to submit final pricing early in January and London Transport will take a decision in principle whether to proceed with the modernisation plans, subject to consultation with the Mayor and Transport for London, in February.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what requirements the Government have placed on bidders for London Underground with respect to safety.

John Spellar: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. In addition to general health and safety law, the infrastructure companies will be required to comply with a contractual safety case.
	The independent Health and Safety Executive will be examining these contractual safety cases as part of the assessment process for the next revision to London Underground's statutory Railway Safety Case. The Government have always made it clear that the plans for modernising the tube will only go ahead if the Health and Safety Executive are satisfied that London Underground has made an acceptable case for safety.

London Underground

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many criminal incidents were reported as occurring on the London Underground in the past 12 months; and how many arrests there have been.

David Jamieson: The British Transport police (BTP) have provided the following information. During the period December 2000 to November 2001, 12,787 notifiable and 5,013 non-notifiable offences were recorded by the BTP area responsible for the London Underground. The term notifiable refers to those offences that police forces in England and Wales are required to report to the Home Office. The term non-notifiable refers to those offences that are not reportable, and are generally of a less serious nature. The number of arrests is not recorded by the BTP.

London Underground

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library correspondence he has had with the (a) Health and Safety Commission and (b) Health and Safety Executive on the London Underground PPP.

David Jamieson: The Secretary of State has not personally written to the Health and Safety Commission or Health and Safety Executive in relation to the plans for the modernisation of London Underground.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many trains per hour are timetabled to run on each section of each London Underground line during peak hours; and what the maximum number of trains per hour to have run on each equivalent section in peak hours was in the past.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have provided the information set out in the table showing scheduled trains per hour for the trunk sections of each line. Trunk sections are the busiest core sections of each individual line which carry the heaviest peak hour traffic.
	
		London Underground-trains per hour in morning peak hour on trunk sections of lines
		
			 Line/section 1980 1990 2001 
		
		
			 Bakerloo
			 Elephant and Castle to Queens Park 18 21 22 
			 Queens Park to Elephant and Castle 20 22 22 
			 
			 Central
			 White City to Leytonstone 24 24 22 
			 Leytonstone to White City 29 29 29 
			 
			 District and Circle
			 Gloucester Road to Tower Hill 25 30 29.5 
			 Tower Hill to Gloucester Road 26 29 29.5 
			 
			 East London Line
			 Surrey Quays to Whitechapel (58) (58) 10 
			 Whitechapel to Surrey Quays (58) (58) 10 
			 
			 Jubilee
			 West Hampstead to Charing Cross 22 23 (59)24 
			 Charing Cross to West Hampstead 20 20 (60)20 
			 
			 Metropolitan
			 Baker Street to Harrow-on-the-Hill 17 16 23 
			 Harrow-on-the-Hill to Baker Street 23 23 25 
			 Metropolitan, Hammersmith  City and Circle
			 Liverpool Street to Baker Street 22 25 29 
			 Baker Street to Liverpool Street 29 30 30 
			 
			 Northern
			 Kennington to Camden Town (via Charing Cross) 18 20 19 
			 Kennington to Camden Town (via Bank) 18 20 19 
			 Camden Town to Kennington (via Charing Cross) 18 19 18 
			 Camden Town to Kennington (via Bank) 18 19 18 
			 
			 Piccadilly
			 Acton Town to Arnos Grove 28 27 27 
			 Arnos Grove to Acton Town 30 24 27 
			 
			 Victoria
			 Brixton to Seven Sisters 26 27 28 
			 Seven Sisters to Brixton 27 29 28 
			 
			 Waterloo  City
			 Waterloo to Bank (58) (58) 18 
			 Bank to Waterloo (58) (58) 18 
		
	
	(58) Data not available
	(59) Figure for 2001 relates to Willesden Green to North Greenwich
	(60) Figure for 2001 relates to North Greenwich to Willesden Green

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 623W, on London Underground, what discussions took place between his Department and London Underground about the (a) recent and (b) continuing advertising campaigns to promote the public-private partnership for the underground, giving details of which (i) Ministers and (ii) officials were involved.

David Jamieson: DTLR officials have regular contract with London Underground on a wide range of issues. DTLR Ministers have occasional meetings with London Transport and London Underground directors, but have not specifically discussed London Underground's advertising campaign.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if (a) the companies and (b) their subsidiaries, including ones that have subsequently been taken over by other companies, that make up the consortia that are the preferred bidder infracos for London Underground, have at any time in the past 10 years provided London Underground with (i) trains, (ii) signalling equipment and (iii) other (A) infrastructure and (B) service that has failed to achieve the level of performance required by the contract originally signed.

David Jamieson: London Underground is responsible for managing the competition for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. I understand that each of the bidders has previous experience of supplying goods or services to London Underground and that such experience was considered by London Underground. Detailed information on performance of its contractors is a matter for London Underground.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 2001, Official Report, columns 3738W, on London Underground, if he will publish the (a) predicted average passenger journey time and (b) passenger excess journey time for the whole of 200102 to date.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground (LU) who inform me that the weighted scheduled journey time and weighted excess journey time for the period 1 April to 10 November 2001 were 35.4 minutes and 7.30 minutes respectively.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish (a) in which year new escalators were most recently installed at Angel station, (b) on how many occasions since these new escalators were installed the station has had to be closed because of escalator problems, (c) the length of time of each closure and (d) the name of the manufacturer of the escalators.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who inform me that:
	(a) new escalators were installed at Angel station in August and September 1992;
	(b) and (c) they do not collect information in the form requested;
	(d) the escalators at the Angel were manufactured by CNIM.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the private companies, consultancies and partnerships that have provided (a) his Department, (b) London Transport and (c) London Underground with consultancy advice concerning the public-private partnership for London Underground since the PPP negotiations began.

David Jamieson: The principal firms employed by London Transport and London Underground are:
	PricewaterhouseCoopers (financial)
	Freshfields (legal)
	Ove Arup (engineering)
	Arthur Anderson (restructuring)
	PA Consulting (infraco structuring)
	Marsh (insurance)
	Pugh Roberts (modelling)
	Bacon  Woodrow (pensions)
	KPMG (review of public sector comparator).
	The Department is currently employing Ernst  Young to carry out a review of London Underground's value for money evaluation of the tube modernisation plans.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  if he will give details of the improvements that will occur for passengers using the Northern line between Morden and Kennington as a result of the public private partnership for London Underground in the first five years of the PPP, giving output targets to be achieved for (a) stations, (b) track and (c) trains;
	(2)  if he will give details of the improvements that will occur for passengers using the Jubilee line between Wembley Park and Baker Street as a result of the public-private partnership for London Underground in the first five years of the PPP, giving output targets to be achieved for (a) stations, (b) track and (c) trains;
	(3)  if he will give details of the improvements that will occur for passengers using the Central line between Marble Arch and Liverpool Street as a result of the public-private partnership for London Underground in the first five years of the PPP, giving output targets to be achieved for (a) stations, (b) track and (c) trains.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 622W.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 15 November 2001, Official Report, column 831W, on London Underground, if he will publish the annual change in the gross operating costs of London Underground for each year since 199798.

David Jamieson: The gross operating costs of London Underground are set out in London Transport's annual report documents, which incorporate their audited annual accounts.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answers of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 622W, on London Underground, whether his Department has undertaken a consultation exercise specifically to discover what (a) outputs and (b) outcomes the London public wishes to see achieved as a result of the public-private partnership for London Underground; and if he will place the results in the Library.

David Jamieson: London Underground is responsible for managing the competitions for the contracts to modernise the tube infrastructure. London Underground regularly undertakes consultation exercises and surveys of customers attitudes. I understand that the performance requirements in the modernisation contracts have been developed to deliver the improvements customers want, in particular increased capacity, improved reliability and higher quality (including safety and security).

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 622W, on London Underground, which year will be used as the base-line against which performance by PPP Infracos will be measured; and what penalties will be incurred if an Infraco achieves a performance 5 per cent. (a) above or (b) below this base-year starting-point.

David Jamieson: The reliability, capacity and quality of travelling environment delivered by the infrastructure companies will be measured against benchmarks that are based on performance in the current year.
	On reliability, an infrastructure company that performs 5 per cent. better than current performance will be penalised at a rate of 3 per lost customer hour for any deterioration in that performance level. If it performs 5 per cent. worse than current performance, then the penalty rate doubles so that a further deterioration in performance is penalised at a rate of 6 per lost customer hour.
	A similar mechanism is used to incentivise improvements in capacity and the quality of the travelling environment. On these measures, the payment rate varies according to the line in question, but in every case the benchmark is set so that the marginal payment rate doubles if performance deteriorates below the current level. I understand that London Underground intends to make details of the contracts available once they have been signed.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the annual service performance targets set for London Underground by his Department and its predecessors (a) for each year since 199697, showing the actual performance achieved in each and (b) for 200102, showing actual performance achieved so far.

David Jamieson: The annual service performance targets set for London Underground, and their actual performance, are set out in London Transport's Annual Reports. The performance targets set at the start of 19992000 were, however, two-year targets to be achieved by the end of March 2001.
	The Government targets for 200102 were announced to the House on 19 July 2001, Official Report, column 367W. London Underground's actual performance will be published as soon as possible after the end of March 2002.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001, Official Report, column 622W, on London Underground, if he will state, for each London Underground line, the last year in which it carried (a) 10 per cent. and (b) 25 per cent. fewer passengers than it does today.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who inform me that they do not hold the information requested in a readily available form and that it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 36W, on London Underground, in which months since they were introduced the trains on the (a) Central, (b) Jubilee and (c) Northern lines have failed to achieve their original contractual requirements; and what the mean distance between failure figure for the most recent month available was.

David Jamieson: London Underground inform me that they do not hold readily available information on the months when contractual requirements were not met and that this could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Detailed in-year operational information such as monthly figures for mean distance between train failures is a matter for London Underground.

London Underground

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions Ministers have had with the Mayor of London and the Transport Commission for London about the London Underground in the last month.

John Spellar: Ministers have frequent meetings with the Mayor and Commissioner of Transport for London. The Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions most recently met the Mayor on 12 December to discuss a range of issues, including London Underground, and I last met him on 13 December.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 560W, on London Underground, 
	(1)  if he will provide comparable information on signal failure for the remaining underground lines;
	(2)  if he will provide comparable information for the remaining parts of the lines.

David Jamieson: This is an operational matter for London Underground who have provided the information set out in the following table showing the number of signal failures causing delays to services for each underground line. The data relate to the period 1 January to 10 November 2001 unless otherwise stated.
	
		Service delays arising from signal failures (by line)
		
			 Underground line Number 
		
		
			 Bakerloo 133 
			 Central 402 
			 Circle 125 
			 District 343 
			 East London 54 
			 Hammersmith and City 106 
			 Jubilee(61) 232 
			 Metropolitan 372 
			 Northern(61) 166 
			 Piccadilly(61) 94 
			 Victoria 256 
			 Waterloo and City 9 
		
	
	(61) Data for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines relates to the period 9 December 2000 to 8 December 2001.

London Underground

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 443W, on the Underground environment, what are the relative weights ascribed to the passenger ambience factors by the PPP contracts for London Underground in respect of (a) graffiti, (b) litter, (c) scratched windows, (d) broken lights and (e) dirt;
	(2)  pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 443W, if he will publish each weight applied to each attribute covered in the PPP contracts.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for London Underground. I understand that London Underground intend to make details of the contracts available once they have been signed.

London Underground

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 443W, how many mystery shoppers are employed on the London Underground; and how the findings are reported.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for London Underground and for NOP who conduct the mystery shopper survey on their behalf.

London Underground

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will publish the Ernst  Young report into the value for money review of PPP.

David Jamieson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	Ernst  Young's report will be published as part of the consultation process and before decisions are taken on whether to sign contracts for the Government's tube modernisation plans.

Train Protection and Warning System

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made by Railtrack in fitting train protection and warning system to the rail network; how many miles of track have been fitted with TPWS in (a) Railtrack's southern zone, (b) the south eastern network and (c) Kent and Sussex; how many miles of track have been fitted with TPWS since 7 October; and how many miles of track were fitted with TPWS in the same period last year.

David Jamieson: The information is not available in the form requested.

Structural Faults (Railways)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many structural defects have been (a) identified and (b) repaired since Railtrack plc was placed into administration; and what the figure is for the same period in 1997.

David Jamieson: This information is not held by the Department.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many motorists did not qualify for a VED rebate because they bought a licence for the year starting July 2000 with a single payment.

David Jamieson: The number of annual licences taken out during the period between July and October 2000 and thus were not eligible for a VED rebate was some 1.2 million.

Public Transport Projects (London)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the major public transport projects being built in London, with starting dates.

David Jamieson: The following major public transport projects are currently being built in London:
	the East London Line Northern Extensionwork commenced on 3 December 2001,
	the channel tunnel rail link stage 2work commenced on 2 July 2001,
	the upgrade of Kings Cross/St. Pancras London Underground Ltd. stationwork commenced 6 August 2001, and
	the west coast main line upgrade, Euston approacheswork commenced spring 1997.

Speed Cameras (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many speed cameras are located in the Buckingham constituency.

David Jamieson: There are six fixed speed camera sites and up to three mobile units operating in the Buckingham constituency.

Aston Clinton Bypass

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many people are employed in the construction of the Aston Clinton Bypass;
	(2)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost of construction of the Aston Clinton Bypass in the Buckingham constituency.

David Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. John Bercow, dated 19 December 2001
	I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the Aston Clinton bypass.
	The contract price for the by-pass was 21.7 million. I am afraid it is not possible to disaggregate a value for the part of the by-pass that is in the Buckingham constituency. During November, 51 people were employed on the contract but numbers fluctuate from month to month depending on the nature of the work.
	If you would like any further information please, contact Andy Finch the Project Sponsor in our Dorking office, who will be pleased to help you. He can be contacted on 01306878343.

Local Government Finance

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to revise and re-issue the consultation document for the 200203 Local Government Finance Settlement published on 4 December 2002, taking into account errors subsequently identified; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: In line with practice in previous years, the Department will shortly be issuing further information to local authorities, which include such data as are available now but were not available in time for inclusion in the data sent out on 4 December 2001. A copy of this information will be placed in the House Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced to the House on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 137, his intention to meet the concern raised by shire districts during the consultation on the settlement, in relation to the way in which their grant floor has been calculated. We will announce the full details of how we will do this at the time of the final settlement, around the end of January 2002.

Local Government Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the content of the letter dated 6 December to himself from Sir Jeremy Beecham, with particular reference to the points relating to the local government settlement for Lewes district council;
	(2)  for what reasons certain district councils will not benefit from the minimum increase of 2.3 per cent. provided to councils as part of his recent statement on the local government settlement.

Alan Whitehead: holding answer 17 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Soley) on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 137.

Standard Spending Assessment (Essex)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement summarising the changes in the responsibilities of local councils which led him to adjust the figures for the SSA and general grants for Essex county council and the Rochford district council for the current financial year.

Alan Whitehead: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (Mr. Soley) on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 137.

Standard Spending Assessment (Essex)

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage increase in local rates will be required to be imposed by Essex county council and Rochford district council if they spend the full SSAs allocated to them for 200203 and receive the full general grant for that year announced on 4 December.

Alan Whitehead: The responsibility for setting council tax levels lies with local authorities. The provisional local government finance settlement, announced in the House on 4 December, does not require any local authorities to set council tax at any particular level.

South Eastern Rail Network

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many trains have been cancelled since 7 October in (a) the southern zone, (b) the south eastern network and (c) Kent and Sussex; and what the figures are for the same period in 1997;
	(2)  how many trains running in November were late in reaching their destination within (a) Railtrack's southern zone, (b) the south eastern network and (c) Kent and Sussex; and what the figures were for November 1997.

David Jamieson: The information is not available in the form requested.

South Eastern Rail Network

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps have been taken by Railtrack to improve the power supply for the south eastern rail network, with particular reference to Kent and Sussex; how much money was spent on the required upgrading (a) before and (b) since Railtrack plc was placed into administration; and how much is required before all new rolling stock can be utilised together.

David Jamieson: Connex Transport UK Ltd., in conjunction with Railtrack, are seeking to find a means of ensuring that the power supply is adequate for the operation of these trains. Until these means are identified the investment required to solve the problem will not be known.

South Eastern Rail Network

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much money Railtrack plc has spent on maintenance and repair of the south eastern rail network, with particular reference to Kent and Sussex, since being placed into administration; and what the comparative figures are for the same period in 1997.

David Jamieson: This is a matter for the Administrator.

South Eastern Rail Network

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many newly commissioned trains and carriages are unutilised within the south eastern rail network with particular reference to Kent and Sussex as a result of the power supply in the southern zone.

David Jamieson: There are currently no commissioned units stabled in Kent or Sussex which are not in use. There are units stabled at these locations while undergoing a rigorous process to gain acceptance for use on the network. There are no units out of use due to any issues concerning power supply.

National Rail Timetable

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps have been taken by (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority to monitor the performance of the public timetable information service provided by Railtrack by (i) telephone and (ii) the internet; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The National Rail Enquiry Service (NRES) is provided collectively by the train operating companies, not Railtrack. The Strategic Rail Authority monitor call handling performance. No less than 90 per cent. of calls must be answered in any one four-week period, and 92.5 per cent. of calls must be answered in the year to 31 March 2002. NRES is currently meeting these targets. Qualitative performance is monitored by independent researchers every six months through mystery shopping surveys. There are no requirement on train operators or Railtrack to provide an internet based system. Where they do so it is done as a commercial initiative and is not subject to performance monitoring.

National Rail Timetable

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions by what process the national rail timetable is created; what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to modify the process by which the national rail travel timetable is created; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Railtrack convene an annual timetable conference at which train operators submit their aspirations for the following years' timetables (summer and winter). Following the conference Railtrack work with each company to produce a draft timetable offer, taking into account the comments of local authorities and Rail Passengers Committees. Each company then has a short period to review the offer and re-bid for any changes that they may wish to see made. Once this re-bidding is completed Railtrack will produce a final version of the timetable, normally 12 weeks before the date of the timetable change. There are no plans to change this process.

National Rail Timetable

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what (a) representations his Department has received from and (b) discussions his Department has had with (i) train operating companies, (ii) Railtrack, (iii) the Rail Passenger Council, (iv) rail passenger committees, (v) the Strategic Rail Authority and (vi) others on the process by which the national rail travel timetable is created; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Ministers have received no representations on this issue, but discussed it with train operators, Railtrack, the Strategic Rail Authority and the Rail Passenger Council in the context of broader considerations about making the best use of the railway network.

National Rail Timetable

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the monthly performance figures are for the Railtrack public timetable information service since it became operational according to the criteria for performance as defined by (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority.

David Jamieson: Statistics on the performance of the National Rail Enquiry Scheme (operated by the Association of Train Operating Companies) are contained in National Rail Trends, which is published quarterly by the Strategic Rail Authority, most recently on 13 December. A copy is placed in the Library of the House.

West Coast Main Line

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has received a proposal for the Ford Motor Company to construct a rail link between the Land Rover plant at Solihull and the west coast main line; if the link has passenger potential; and if he will make a statement on road to rail.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority has been in discussions with Ford Motor Company about this proposal but they have not received a formal application for support. The scheme has potential to transfer freight traffic from road to rail which is in line with the objectives of our 10-year plan. No assessment has been made as to whether this rail link, if built, would have potential passenger use.

West Coast Main Line

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what financial commitment the Government have made to (a) the West Coast Phase 1 upgrade, (b) the West Coast Phase 2 upgrade and (c) the Virgin Cross Country Franchise upgrade.

David Jamieson: Virgin Trains have so far been paid some 300 million under the West Coast Trains franchise since it commenced on 9 March 1997. In addition to making payments under that franchise, the SRA is discussing, with my Department, Railtrack and Virgin Trains, various options for the outputs to be delivered under the west coast modernisation programme. Until the final outputs are agreed it is not possible to say what the costs involved will be. Value for money is one of the considerations under discussion.
	Virgin Trains have so far been paid over 400 million under the cross country franchise since it commenced on 5 January 1997. The upgrade to cross country services, including the lease of new trains and infrastructure enhancements, are a commercial venture by Virgin Trains.
	Subsidy levels decline year on year. The company will be paying premiums under the West Coast Trains franchise from 200203 and under the cross country franchise from 201011.

Trains (Criminal Incidents)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many criminal incidents have been reported as occurring on trains in (a) the south-east, (b) East Anglia, (c) the south-west, (d) the midlands, (e) the north-west and (f) the north-east in the last 12 months.

David Jamieson: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information regarding the number of notifiable and non-notifiable on-train offences recorded by all BTP areas, except London Underground, during the period from December 2000 to November 2001.
	
		
			 Area Notifiable offences Non-notifiable offences All offences 
		
		
			 London North 3,447 212 3,659 
			 North-east 939 251 1,190 
			 Scotland 992 484 1,476 
			 North-west 2,240 977 3,217 
			 Midlands 1,183 643 1,826 
			 South-west 1,058 450 1,508 
			 London South 4,998 327 5,325 
			  
			 Total 14,857 3,344 18,201

Planning Obligations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will publish his consultation document on planning obligations.

Stephen Byers: I am publishing today a consultation document entitled Planning obligations: delivering a fundamental change which is one of a series of consultation papers that together propose a radical reform of the planning system.
	Planning obligations (also known as section 106 agreements) are typically agreements between developers and local authorities negotiated in the context of granting a planning consent. They have been criticised by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (the Nolan Committee) for being insufficiently transparent. Business finds them slow to negotiate, unpredictable and, in some cases, unfair. They are then a disincentive to developers who may find themselves with long, expensive planning delays.
	I am proposing to replace the present system of negotiated planning obligations with a tariff that will be set by local authorities in their local development plans. The tariff will apply in principle to all development that receives a planning consent. It will therefore give business much more certainty about what cost, in terms of planning obligations, it faces if it chooses to buy and develop a particular piece of land or property. I am also proposing that some development should be exempt because it is too small, it is financially marginalsuch as development of an urban brownfield siteor serves a clear purpose in promoting sustainable development.
	The tariff would be spent in line with the priorities set out in local development plans. I would expect the provision of affordable housing to be a high priority in most plans.
	My proposals will create an open, accountable and predictable system that will enable business to see, at the outset of a development, what level of planning obligation is likely to be incurred. The tariff will, so far as possible, require no negotiation. It will be much easier for local authorities to administer and should allow planning permissions to be issued much faster.
	I propose in the consultation document to allow planning obligations to be used to enable communities to share in the benefits of sustainable growth. Development pressures in some areas are placing heavy burdens on the existing infrastucture and especially on the supply of affordable housing for nurses, teachers, police officers and other keyworkers. We need to ensure that new development supports the investment required in new facilities to help improve the quality of life for local communities.
	Copies of the consultation document will be placed in the Library of the House.

Rail Franchising Policy

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on rail franchising policy.

Stephen Byers: I have today laid before the House a policy statement, Passenger Rail Franchising. The statement sets out the benefits that I wish the Strategic Rail Authority to seek to achieve through rail franchising and requires it to explore the full range of options for securing them. It also incorporates the statement of policy referred to in section 26(10) of the Railways Act 1993, as amended by the Transport Act 2000.

Ports (Appraisal Framework)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on an appraisal framework for ports in the United Kingdom.

David Jamieson: The Department is issuing today a consultation document concerned with the development of an appraisal framework for port projects in the UK.
	The development of an appraisal framework for ports was identified in Modern Ports: A UK Policy as an important plank in the application of a sustainable transport policy to ports. The intention of the appraisal framework is to put ports on a similar footing to other modes, to make the appraisals more consistent with each other and to take full account of the role of ports in promoting sustainable transport. We believe that the use of a common framework assists promoters, objectors, local authorities, other public bodies and all those involved in planning inquiries to consider whether all relevant factors have been covered. The framework is also a contribution to the package of measures designed to speed up planning decisions on major infrastructure projects announced by the Department in July 2001.
	The consultation will assist the Department in drawing up a guidance note for all those involved with port developments requiring some form of official approval. It is intended that the guidance note will be issued later in 2002.
	We are inviting comments from all those with an interest in port related matters, including ports, port users, environmental interests, other Government Departments, local authorities, and other public and private bodies.
	The document outlines an appraisal framework derived from the guidance for multi-modal studies, but taking account of the particular effect of port developments. The document invites comments and suggestions on a number of topics, such as the content and format of strategic appraisal, scheme description, coverage and measurement of detailed effects and the appropriate level of detail required.
	The consultation is being conducted in accordance with the criteria contained in the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Written Consultation. Responses are requested to be sent to my Department by 5 April 2002. Copies of the consultation document are in the Library, and it is also available from my Department (EAMI Division, Zone 1/34, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR) and on the Department's website.

Ordnance Survey

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of the Quinquennial Review of Ordnance Survey.

Sally Keeble: I am pleased to announce today the outcome of the first Stage of the Quinquennial Review of Ordnance Survey. I have placed copies of the Stage 1 Report in the Libraries.
	Stage 1 of the Review of Ordnance Survey, announced on 15 February 2001 was managed by a Steering Group chaired by my Department. It also included representatives from Ordnance Survey, HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and two external members from the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) and the London borough of Lewisham. Consultation took place with a wide range of stakeholders and customers in the geographic information business in Great Britain.
	Ordnance Survey is a Government Department and Executive Agency operating within a Trading Fund regime. The main recommendation of the review is that it should further strengthen its business focus by becoming a Government-owned plc on 1 April 2003, with Government owning 100 per cent. of the shares. This would provide Ordnance Survey with additional commercial freedoms that are considered to be essential if it is to use its full potential to develop the geographic information and e-business marketplace.
	The Stage 1 Review rejected the options of abolition, merger, contracting out and market testing. It considered privatisation carefully, but stated that this was not a real option at present because there is much for Ordnance Survey to do to increase its value as a business through increasing market presence and decreasing cost through operational efficiencies. Additionally, the reviewers concluded that privatisation could endanger Ordnance Survey's existing partnerships, both within the Government and the private sector. Government-owned plc status would balance the requirement of the national interest in maintaining consistent, up-to-date, and fit-for- purpose geographic information, with the commercial imperatives of an efficient organisation.
	I have carefully considered the Stage 1 Report and its argument that there is a need for a further step change from the current Trading Fund status to enable Ordnance Survey to respond effectively to the requirements of the marketplace. I have accepted that the change in status will enable the further development and expansion of their business of providing geographic data for others to add value and generate commercial products, but I wish to have this confirmed by means of a clear business case.
	The report's recommendation is in line with the wider Government policy of increasing accountability for Government organisations and increases the potential for high quality managers to raise the return to Government from the efficient and effective use of Ordnance Survey assets and investment.
	I am minded to accept the Review's recommendation and have authorised the Steering Group to proceed to a Stage 2 Review which will be asked to undertake a detailed analysis of the best structure for a company, confirm the benefits and costs compared to the current Trading Fund status, consider the right operating framework, and propose means of removing any obstacles which will influence the establishment of Ordnance Survey as a Government-owned company by 1 April 2003. Stage 2 will also investigate how further public- private partnerships might benefit Ordnance Survey.
	I will make a further statement when the Stage 2 Review is complete and I have assessed its findings.

Ordnance Survey

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 4 December 2001, Official Report, column 279W, on the Ordnance Survey, what further stages in the Quinquennial Review of the Ordnance Survey will follow stage one; what the timetable will be for completion of such stages; and whether a staged timetable was envisaged when the Government announced the Quinquennial Review on 15 February.

Sally Keeble: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Pound) regarding Stage 1 of the Quinquennial Review of Ordnance Survey, at columns 51819W.
	Cabinet Office guidelines stipulate a two-stage approach to Quinquennial Reviews. The content of the second stage of Quinquennial Reviews is dependent on decisions made following the first stage. The first stage of the review has considered and made recommendations regarding the most appropriate organisation for delivering the functions currently carried out by Ordnance Survey.
	Work will begin on the second stage of the review early in the new year, which will consider further the issues raised within Stage 1, and on how Ordnance Survey can improve its performance. Cabinet Office guidelines recommend that the second stage of a review should be completed within three months.
	I can confirm that a staged timetable was envisaged when Stage 1 of the Ordnance Survey Quinquennial Review was announced.

Night Flights

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Hatton case on night flights issued on 2 October.

David Jamieson: The Hatton judgment raises serious questions about the interpretation and application of the European Convention on Human Rights. We are therefore submitting a request for the case to be referred for consideration by the Grand Chamber of the Court. The grounds for this request are set out in a letter to the Court, copies of which will be placed in the Library.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) commissioned in the last five years and (b) plans to commission into the causes of older homelessness.

Sally Keeble: There has been a proliferation of research into the causes of homelessness over the past decade, including recent studies on older people. The Government have announced that they are establishing a new homelessness directorate to bring together existing work to help homeless people as well as to develop new work to prevent homelessness and investigate its causes, as part of this consideration will be given to further research in this area.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate his Department has made of the number of specialist hostel places available for single homeless women, broken down by region.

Sally Keeble: Information about hostel provision is not collected centrally and no estimates of specialist provision for women have been made. However, the hon. Member might be interested to know that information gathered on 3,387 people contacted by the contact and assessment teams in London during 200001 show that around 10 per cent. of rough sleepers are women, with around a fifth of this group being aged under 25.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimates his Department has made of the number of people made homeless as a result of administrative errors and failures by housing benefit units.

Sally Keeble: Information reported to the Department relates to the number of households accepted under the homelessness provisions of Housing Acts as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. Cases that are the result of rent arrears are identified, although the number of these attributable to delays or errors in housing benefit administration are not separately distinguished.
	The Department's housing policy statement Quality and Choice: A decent home for allThe way forward for housing (December 2000) recognised that the fundamental challenge facing housing benefit is its administration. Problems with administering housing benefit can result in unacceptable levels of fraud and error, as well as backlogs of delayed claims. Our immediate priority has therefore been to work in partnership with local authorities to improve standards of administration. We have also set up a help fund to enable local authorities to formulate and implement improvement plans. In addition, we will introduce national performance standards to support the better administration of housing benefit from spring 2002.
	The best value regime is also helping to drive up standards of delivery across all local authority services. Best value performance indicators in place since April 2000 include a measure of the average speed of processing housing benefit claims. Provisional and unaudited best value performance information published by the Department suggests that about a quarter of English local authorities took on average 60 days or longer to process new housing benefit claims in 200001. Final performance figures for 200001 will be published early in 2002.

Homelessness

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what baseline figures his Department has for the number of (a) officially recorded and (b) unofficial estimates of older homeless people (i) sleeping rough, (ii) in hostel accommodation, (iii) in move-on accommodation, (iv) in bed and breakfast accommodation and (v) in special needs accommodation.

Sally Keeble: The most recent street count showed that there were 532 people sleeping rough across England on any one night. We estimate that between 15 and 20 per cent. of those will be aged over 50. Information gathered by Housing Services Agency (HSA) shows that in London during 200001 the contact and assessment teams (CATs) contacted some 609 (17 per cent.) rough sleepers or former rough sleepers who are over 50-years-old.
	Information gathered by Housing Services Agency shows that in London during 200001 there were 26 moves into permanent accommodation and 319 moves into temporary accommodation, including 180 moves into hostel accommodation by rough sleepers aged over 50 years. Due to the nature of rough sleeping some people will be recorded more than once in these figures as they may have been moved into a hostel, or other temporary accommodation, more than once during the year.
	Due to the way the information is collected and the fluctuating pattern of rough sleeping by some people, it is not possible to provide exact figures on the number of older rough sleepers and former rough sleepers currently sleeping rough, in hostel accommodation, in move-on accommodation, in bed and breakfast or in special needs accommodation.
	On 30 September 2001, the total number of households being accommodated by local housing authorities in bed-and-breakfast hotels under existing homelessness legislation was 12,290 and a further 9,480 households were being accommodated in hostels. Information is not held centrally on the proportion of these that are older homeless people.
	Information is not held centrally on the number of older homeless people in special needs accommodation.

Emergency Landing (Newcastle Airport)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the Air Accidents Investigation Branch's report into the emergency landing at Newcastle Airport on 3 February involving the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan police will be published; and what the cause of the delay is.

David Jamieson: The AAIB report on the circumstances of the emergency landing at Newcastle airport on 3 February 2001 involving the Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan police will be published on 7 February 2002. The emergency landing was caused by the incorrect assembly of the nose landing gear retraction mechanism on the American manufactured Piper PA 34 aircraft. The sequence of events had occurred before on other aircraft of the type and the examination of the maintenance standards issues raised by this emergency landing has led to the delay in publishing the report.

Seaside Resorts

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  which officials in his Department he has nominated as resort champions;
	(2)  what action his Department is taking to support the implementation of the English Tourism Council's Sea Changes report.

Sally Keeble: The Government have welcomed the publication of the English Tourism Council's Sea Changes report. The report contains a number of recommendations, some of which are relevant to DTLR, including one that Government Departments should nominate a senior official as a resort champion. It also explains that to take its recommendations forward with relevant key partners, the ETC intends to broker individual meetings with them to discuss plans for implementation.
	Although my Department has not yet been approached by the ETC for a meeting, it is already actively supporting the regeneration of resorts through various programmes, including the single regeneration budget. In addition, Regional Development Agencies have been asked to explain in their 200204 Corporate Plans how they will be involved with developing regional tourism strategies, including the promotion of coastal resort regeneration.

Party Affiliation

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will introduce legislation to vacate the seats of Members who have changed party affiliation.

Alan Whitehead: The basis of elections to this House is that the electorate is invited to vote for candidates and not the political party they may represent. We have no plans to seek amending legislation to require Members who change their political affiliation to vacate their seats. It is for the representative to determine whether they wish to test the strength of their position by vacating their seat and re-submitting themselves for election.

Rail Safety

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what action has been taken on implementing the recommendations arising from Part 1 of Lord Cullen's public inquiry report; and when the Health and Safety Commission plans to publish the six month progress report which Lord Cullen recommended.

David Jamieson: Lord Cullen's final recommendation was
	that a review of compliance with his recommendations be conducted on behalf of the Health and Safety Commission within six months of this report. I am informed that this review has been completed and that the Health and Safety Executive officials will be reporting on progress to the Commission in February and that they intend to publish a progress report in March. I shall arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

Rail Safety

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many safety visits were conducted by the senior management of Railtrack in each month from January 2000 to November 2001.

David Jamieson: Railtrack have advised that in April 2000 the company initiated an internal programme of visits for senior managers to assist the promotion of safety tours across the business. Railtrack report that good progress has been made since initiation although monthly figures are not readily available.

Rail Safety

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason he amended the Cullen Declaration on rail safety; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The declaration by the Paddington Survivors Group was agreed in advance by all parties before signing.

Rail Safety

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the administrator is running Railtrack to ensure that (a) routine signal, track and other maintenance is carried out and (b) the safety standards previously required of Railtrack are maintained.

David Jamieson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	During the period of administration, the Government will continue to provide the administrator with sufficient funding to ensure the operation of the network. The terms of Railtrack's licence require it to ensure the safe operation of the network. The Health and Safety Executive is working closely with both Railtrack plc and the administrator to ensure that safety is maintained.

Planning

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions further to the European Commission Regional Policy Directorate- General's proposals on spatial planning in the EU, if he will make a statement on the involvement of the European Union in local, regional and national planning matters.

Stephen Byers: holding answer 5 November 2001
	The European Union is not directly involved in local, regional and national planning in the UK. However, account is taken of jointly agreed policy objectives in the preparation of land-use plans in the UK.

Bob Kiley

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library the document about Mr. Kiley which had been shown to journalists referred to by Sir Richard Wilson on 1 November.

David Jamieson: I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Rents

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what he estimates will be the average (a) council and (b) registered social landlord rent in (i) each region in England and (ii) each London borough in 201112 in constant prices, after adjusting for the effects of the Government's rent restructuring proposals.

Sally Keeble: Individual councils and registered social landlords (RSLs) retain responsibility for rent-setting. Rents in 201112 are therefore a matter for individual social landlords. The rate of increase of actual council and RSL rents over the next 10 years will depend, among other things, on the outcome of future Spending Reviews (for council rents) and periodic reviews by the Housing Corporation (for RSL rents).

Train Delays/Cancellations

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many trains of each train operating company arrived late by (a) more than five minutes and (b) more than 10 minutes in each month from January 2000 to November 2001; in each case, what proportion of these delays were due to (i) train breakdowns, (ii) signal failures, (iii) track/points failures, (iv) leaves on the line, (v) staff shortages, (vi) adverse weather conditions and (vii) other factors; and what were the same figures for peak hours;
	(2)  how many trains in each train operating company were cancelled for each month from January 2000 to November 2001; in each case what proportion of these cancellations were due to (a) train breakdowns, (b) signal failures, (c) track/points failures, (d) staff shortages, (e) adverse weather conditions and (f) other factors; and what were the same figures for peak hours.

David Jamieson: The information on causes of delay by period is not readily available. The information distinguishing between peak and off-peak is available only for London commuter train operating companies. The latest information available on delays and cancellations which goes up until 16 September 2001 is being placed in the Libraries of the House.

Train Delays/Cancellations

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on changes to the number of cancellations on the railways between September and December.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority maintain performance records by four week period, not by calendar month. The figures represent the percentage of trains which either did not run or did not operate for more than half their scheduled mileage shown in the timetable.
	2.1 per cent. between 19 August 2001 and 15 September 2001
	2.0 per cent. between 16 September 2001 and 13 October 2001
	1.8 per cent. between 14 October 2001 and 10 November 2001.

Speed Restrictions Railway

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many speed restrictions were in force on the railways during (a) August and (b) September.

John Spellar: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 12 December 2001, Official Report, columns 86970W.

Airline Industry

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received on the Commission authorising EU Governments (a) to pay compensation for the four-day shutdown of US airspace in the absence of insurance cover and (b) to pay for additional security to meet public policy objectives; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: We have received various representations from the air transport industry on these issues. Having had regard to these views, we have accepted that the circumstances are exceptional and therefore merit exceptional assistance. We announced on 13 December that we had decided to provide up to 40 million of financial assistance to compensate airlines for losses arising directly from the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States. Qualifying airlines have been invited to submit claims under this scheme and a copy of the scheme conditions has been placed in the Library. Assistance under this package is in conformity with Commission guidelines on state aid, and we have notified the Commission of our intention accordingly.
	In addition, the Government continue to underwrite, on a temporary basis, third party war risk insurance for UK airlines and service providers to the airline industry. The initiative has been extended until 23 January 2002.

Airline Industry

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received from (a) airline companies, (b) providers to the airline industry, (c) hon. and right hon. Members and (d) others requesting financial support other than the underwriting of third party war insurance to be given to airline companies;
	(2)  what financial support the Government plan for UK airline companies following the events of 11 September;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with airline companies regarding Government financial support since 11 September.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 13 December 2001, Official Report, column 1013W.

Rail Passenger Surveys

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department has taken to take account of the results from national passenger surveys in developing policies for the rail network; what conclusions have been reached by his Department on the findings on national passenger surveys; if he will place copies of documentation related to the national passenger survey published by (a) the Strategic Rail Authority and (b) his Department in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The national passenger survey has shown that the key issue for passengers is performance. The Strategic Rail Authority plans to include targets for passenger satisfaction in new franchises. The results of the NPS are published in the Authority's On Track publication, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Rail Freight

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon into the future rail freight demand (i) for Great Britain as a whole, (ii) between different train operating companies, (iii) in relation to temporal variations and (iv) according to geographical variations; if he will place copies of published research reports in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: My Department commissioned research into future demand to move deep-sea containers by rail to inform consideration of Freightliner's recent application for track access grant. There is no published research report.
	My Department has commissioned a review of freight modelling techniques across all modes. This will inform the future development of the Department's national transport model for Great Britain as a whole. There is no published research report.
	My Department had regard to advice from the Strategic Rail Authority into future rail freight demand to inform the development of the 10-Year Plan and the last Spending Review. Details of the model and its results are reported in 'The Background Analysis' paper of 'Transport 2010: The 10-Year Plan', copies of which were placed in the Library in July 2000.

Rail Passenger Projections

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon into future rail passenger demand (i) for Great Britain as a whole, (ii) between different train operating companies, (iii) in relation to temporal variations and (iv) according to geographical variations; if he will place copies of published research reports in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: My Department developed a model of future rail passenger demand for Great Britain to inform the development of the 10-Year Plan and the last Spending Review. Details of the model and its results are reported in 'The Background Analysis' paper of 'Transport 2010: The 10-Year Plan', copies of which were placed in the Library in July 2000.
	My Department commissioned research into future rail passenger demand on Eurostar. These forecasts were used to inform commercial negotiations undertaken earlier this year with Railtrack Group plc and London and Continental Railways concerning section 2 of the channel tunnel rail link. There is no published research report.
	My Department has commissioned research to develop a model of rail passenger demand. This will be a component of the Department's national transport model to be used to inform decisions taken in the current spending review. The model will consider Great Britain as a whole, temporal variations in so far as they affect crowding in the peak period, and broad geographical corridors. There is no published research report.
	My Department receives advice from the Strategic Rail Authority in relation to passenger rail franchises. When awarding new franchises the SRA makes assessments of bidders' passenger forecasts.

Transport Ticketing and Information

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to improve (i) through ticketing between different modes of transport and (ii) a public timetable information service for all modes of transport; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The information is as follows:
	(a) (i) Bus and train operators already offer a number of number of multi-modal ticketing products on a commercial basis, under the auspices of Journey Solutions, an initiative of the UK transport industry to promote and improve integration between transport modes. We support this initiative.
	(a) (ii) Traveline, a telephone-based national public transport information system, is available throughout Great Britain and provides route and timetable information for all modes from a single national rate telephone number (0870 608 2 608). Traveline is run by local authorities and transport operators. The start-up costs were paid by central Government.
	(b) (i) We are developing Transport Direct, a fully integrated internet travel service. By 2003, we expect that Transport Direct will offer internet booking of long- distance journeys involving different forms of transport. In the longer term it will be possible to book and pay for travel at the time the inquiry is made, and obtain the travel authority/ticket(s).
	The Department is also working with local authorities and transport operators to increase the use of Smartcards, which will make the retailing of multi-modal ticketing products much easier.
	(b) (ii) Transport Direct will also provide a full multi-modal travel information service via the internet to allow people to plan their journeys and to compare routes and prices.

Transport Infrastructure (London)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proportion of the expected investment in London's transport infrastructure is projected to come from (a) central Government, (b) the Mayor and (c) the private sector between 2001 and 2010.

David Jamieson: The Government's 10-Year Plan for Transport assumes that London's transport infrastructure will benefit from 17.8 billion of capital investment over the period 200102 to 201011. Of this around 40 per cent. will be funded by central Government and 60 per cent. will be funded by the private sector. The plan does not assume that the Mayor will use income from council tax to increase transport investment in London, although it is open to him to do so.

Transport Infrastructure (London)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much central Government funding will be allocated to transport improvements in London as part of the 10-Year Plan.

David Jamieson: 15.2 billion of central Government funding is allocated for transport improvements in London as part of the 10-Year Plan for Transport.

Channel Tunnel Freight Services

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has made to the French Government concerning the reduction of channel tunnel freight services since 7 November.

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations have been made to the Government of France to remove SNCF's restrictions on the number of freight trains travelling from France to the United Kingdom through the channel tunnel; what reduction in freight traffic through the channel tunnel has taken place as a result of SNCF's decision; and what estimate he has made of the financial loss to UK operators.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 18 December 2001, Official Report, column 225W.

Merchant Ships

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many merchant ships are registered in the UK; and how many were registered in (a) 1991 and (b) 1996.

David Jamieson: At the end of September 2001, 423 merchant trading vessels were registered in the UK. The equivalent figures for the end of September in 1991 and 1996 were 519 and 384, respectively.

Rail Track Access Charges

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations have been made by train operating companies to (a) him, (b) the SRA and (c) the Rail Regulator to secure reduced access charges as a result of under-performance of Railtrack since administration.

David Jamieson: None. Train operating companies are compensated for poor Railtrack operational performance through their track access agreements, which are approved by the Rail Regulator. After approval, they are enforceable by the parties to them and not by the Regulator.

Heathrow

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will issue an interim report on the trial to establish the feasibility of extending the runway alternation at Heathrow to include the hour from 6.00 am to 7.00 am.

David Jamieson: The then Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) explained on 23 November 1999, Official Report, column 64W, that the trial was expected to continue for up to two years. It commenced in August 2000 but has been subject to interruptions which make it difficult to draw any preliminary conclusions. During 2001 the trial was disrupted by resurfacing of the northern runway and replacement of the instrument landing systems (ILS); essential work which will continue next year when the southern runway is resurfaced and other ILS equipment is replaced. There are no plans to issue an interim report.

Traffic Calming (Buckingham)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much has been spent in the constituency of Buckingham on (a) installing road humps on established roads, (b) installing mini- roundabouts on established roads and (c) other traffic calming measures in each year since 1999; and what effect these measures have had on the number of road accidents.

David Jamieson: Statistics on expenditure on road safety schemes are not held centrally but are a matter for each local authority.

Train Punctuality Statistics

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance has been given to the Strategic Rail Authority with reference to the publication of monthly train punctuality statistics; if he will place copies of such guidance submitted by his Department to the Strategic Rail Authority in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority which are currently in force and the draft issued for consultation on 29 June require the authority to publish a regular bulletin describing the performance of franchise operators.

Train Punctuality Statistics

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give details of the means through which (a) the Strategic Rail Authority, (b) Railtrack, (c) train operating companies and (d) other organisations and companies within the rail industry disseminate statistics on train punctuality to the travelling public; what steps his Department is taking to improve the dissemination of information on train punctuality to the travelling public; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority publishes a regular bulletin describing the performance of franchise operators, which is available on its website www.sra.gov.uk. Train operating companies are required to publish Passenger's Charter statistics every four weeks at major stations. Details of the stations at which the figures are displayed can be obtained from the individual train operating company.

Railway Staff

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff were employed by (a) Railtrack plc and (b) Railtrack Group plc in each month since September, broken down by category of employee, including (i) senior management, (ii) electrical engineers, (iii) mechanical engineers, (iv) administration and (v) others.

David Jamieson: I understand from Railtrack that there has been no significant change in staff turnover since September in the categories listed.

Mark 1 Passenger Carriages

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the (a) collisions, (b) derailments and (c) SPADs involving mark 1 passenger carriages in the last four years, broken down by (i) vehicle stock and (ii) train operating company.

David Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate have advised that this information is not available in the form requested.

Mark 1 Passenger Carriages

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what is the date by which all Mark 1 passenger carriages will be replaced, broken down by (a) vehicle stock and (b) train operating company.

David Jamieson: All Mark 1 stock must be removed from the network by 1 January 2005.

Mark 1 Passenger Carriages

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many railway rolling stock leases involving mark 1 passenger carriages are in existence; and in respect of each lease, what is (a) the name of the rolling stock company owning the vehicles and (b) the name of the train operating company leasing them; and how many mark one vehicles are covered by that lease; and what is the date to which the train operating company is committed to leasing the vehicles.

David Jamieson: The information is shown in the following table:
	
		Mark one rolling stock operated by UK train operating companies
		
			 Train operating company/ type/lessor Number of vehicles  Lease expires 
		
		
			 c2c(62)   
			 Angel Trains(62) 92 31 March 2002 
			 Angel Trains(62) 16 31 January 2002 
			 HSBC(62) 4 31 March 2002 
			 Total 112  
			
			 Connex South Eastern   
			 Angel Trains(62) 12 31 December 2002 
			 Angel Trains(62) 264 31 March 2004 
			 HSBC(62) 80 31 December 2002 
			 Porterbrook(62) 170 31 October 2002 
			 Porterbrook(62) 32 31 March 2004 
			 Total 558  
			
			 First Great Eastern   
			 Angel Trains(62) 96 31 October 2002 
			 Angel Trains(62) 4 31 March 2003 
			 Total 100  
			
			 First North Western   
			 Angel Trains(63) 16 20 June 2002 
			 Angel Trains(63) 16 6 May 2002 
			 Total 32  
			
			 Scotrail   
			 Angel Trains(62) 51 31 December 2001 
			 Angel Trains(62) 10 31 December 2001 
			 Total 61  
			
			 South Central   
			 Angel Trains(62) 292 31 March 2002 
			 HSBC(62) 28 25 May 2003 
			 Porterbrook(63) 27 31 March 2002 
			 Porterbrook(62) 33 25 May 2003 
			 Porterbrook(62) 156 31 March 2002 
			 Total 536  
			
			 South West Trains   
			 HSBC(62) 384 3 February 2003 
			 Porterbrook(62) 2 5 February 2003 
			 Porterbrook(62) 116 31 December 2002 
			 Porterbrook(62) 77 3 February 2003 
			 Total 579  
			
			 Total 1,978  
		
	
	(62) EMU
	(63) DEMU

Strategic Rail Authority

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list (a) each meeting held between his Department's Ministers or civil servants and the Strategic Rail Authority since 1 September, (b) those meetings at which the subject of current franchise performance was discussed and (c) those meetings at which the subject of specialist manpower shortages in the railway industry was discussed; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: There are frequent contacts between my Department, both Ministers and officials, and the Strategic Rail Authority. Franchise performance and specialist manpower shortages have been among the matters discussed.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  if he will provide details of changes in the responsibilities of (a) himself, (b) other departmental ministers and (c) the Department in terms of day to day (i) direction and (ii) control of the activities of the Strategic Rail Authority; what plans he has further to change the nature of these relationships; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what (a) directions and (b) guidance was given to the Strategic Rail Authority in July; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is subject to directions and guidance issued to it by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under sections 206(3) and 207(5) of the Transport Act 2000. Draft directions and guidance were issued for consultation on 29 June and a final version will be issued early in the new year. Interim directions and guidance were issued on 31 January 2001 and a copy was placed in the Library of the House.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of the conclusions of research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon, into rail passenger (i) demands and (ii) requirements for information on (A) reliability and frequency of services, (B) fares and (C) real-time information; if he will place copies of the research reports published as a result of such research conducted in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The SRA are working on a number of initiatives to improve information for passengers. These include a feasibility study into a proposed national real-time information database, a proposal for a National Rail Enquiry Service (NRES) on the internet and encouraging NRES to develop closer links with telesales.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what (a) representations his Department has received from and (b) discussions his Department has had with (i) train operating companies, (ii) Railtrack, (iii) the Rail Passenger Council, (iv) rail passenger committees and (v) others in relation to the update of directions and guidance given by his Department to the Strategic Rail Authority in September 1999 (A) between September 1999 and July 2001 and (B) since July; if he will outline what plans he has further to update his Department's directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Draft directions and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority were published for consultation on 29 June. We intend to publish a final version, together with a summary of comments received during consultation and the Government's response to them, early in the new year.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what targets the Strategic Rail Authority has set for the regulation of fare levels on passenger rail services; what progress has been made towards meeting the targets; what steps are planned to meet the targets; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Since January 1999, increases in regulated fares have been limited to RPI-1 per cent., with performance-related arrangements also applying to London commuter operators. The Strategic Rail Authority monitor fares increases to ensure that the train operating companies keep within the permitted level. The authority has recently commissioned an independent evaluation of the success of Fares Regulation since it commenced in 1995. The study will consider how regulation has performed in practice compared to the expectations of the policy at the time. The results to this study are expected to be published in spring 2002.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what targets the Strategic Rail Authority has set for improving the reliability of passenger rail services; what progress has been made towards meeting the targets; what steps are planned to meet the targets; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: All train operating companies have performance targets in their franchise agreements which can lead to enforcement action being taken if not met. There are also targets for performance in train operating companies' Passenger's Charters which, if not met, trigger discounts to passengers renewing season tickets. In his draft franchising policy statement of 16 July the Secretary of State asked the Strategic Rail Authority to look at what could be done within existing franchise agreements, or by negotiating short extensions, to drive up the reliability and punctuality of services. The authority have revised their franchise replacement programme and will make an announcement shortly.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that the needs of disabled passengers are taken into account in the awarding of train operating company franchises; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The draft Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority, issued for consultation on 29 June, address this issue. The SRA will publish a revised code of practice early next year. Train operating companies will be required to revise their Disabled Peoples Protection Policies to take account of it.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon on (i) the reliability of and (ii) regulation of fare levels on passenger rail services as measured by the Strategic Rail Authority; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority has recently commissioned an independent study to evaluate fares regulation since it commenced in 1995. The study will consider how regulation has performed in practice compared to the expectations of the policy at the time, and will involve formal consultation with train operators, passenger groups and other interested parties. The results are expected to be published in spring 2002, and will help to determine future fares strategy.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what deadline was imposed on the Strategic Rail Authority for delivery of its strategic plan within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of (a) September 1999, and (b) July 2001; if he will outline what action (i) has been and (ii) is planned to be taken, as a consequence of the failure to meet a deadline; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Current Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority do not impose any deadline for completion of its strategic plan. The draft Directions and Guidance published on 29 June proposed a deadline of November but this has been extended by agreement with the new Chairman of the Authority, who took up office on 1 December. The strategic plan will now be published on 14 January.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what role (a) the Rail Passenger Council, (b) rail passenger committees and (c) other rail passenger interest groups play within (i) the Strategic Rail Authority and (ii) the Rail Regulator; what plans he has to alter the nature of the relationship between these groups; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Rail Passenger Council and rail passenger committees are funded through the Strategic Rail Authority, which also appoints members to the committees. They are otherwise independent of the authority and of the Rail Regulator, as are other passenger interest groups. We have no plans to make any change.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what discussions his Department has had with and what representations his Department has received from (a) Railtrack Group, (b) the Railway Administrator and (c) First Group, with regard to the operation of totaljourney.com; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Totaljourney.com was a private commercial initiative implemented by Railtrack and FirstGroup. The decision to cease operation of the site was taken by those parties.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon into timetable information provided by Railtrack; what plans he has to assist in the improvement of timetable information systems in the railway industry; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Standards of provision of timetable information by Railtrack, Train Operators and the National Rail Enquiry Service are monitored constantly by the Strategic Rail Authority. The National Passenger Survey monitors passengers satisfaction with the provision of information. Improvement in customer satisfaction ratings will be required in new franchise agreements.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give details of the measure of overcrowding being used by the Strategic Rail Authority; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Passenger in Excess of Capacity (PIXC) standard states that
	in respect of all trains operated by the Franchise Operator on the specified routes and services, (i) the PIXC in the morning peak shall not exceed 4.5 per cent., (ii) the PIXC in the evening peak shall not exceed 4.5 per cent., (iii) the PIXC on the morning and the evening peak shall not exceed 3 per cent. and (iv) the PIXC shall not be unduly concentrated on any particular route or service.
	PIXC is applied to the 10 train operators running services in and out of London as well as Scotrail's services across the Fife Bridge.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment has been made by (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority of the levels of overcrowding (i) for each train operating company, (ii) temporally and (iii) geographically; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: There is a strong commercial incentive on train operators to supply sufficient levels of comfort for passengers on the services they provide. The SRA measures commuter overcrowding using the Passengers in Excess of Capacity mechanism, for which the results are published annually.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon on the measure of overcrowding levels of rail passenger services as used by the Strategic Rail Authority; if he will place copies of reports published as a result of such research conducted in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The SRA expect commuter Train Operating Companies to undertake impartial passenger counts up to twice per annum for peak commuter services. Where PTEs specify limits for peak overcrowding they use a similar approach.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps (a) have been and (b) are planned to be taken by (i) his Department and (ii) the Strategic Rail Authority to improve the measure of overcrowding used by the Strategic Rail Authority to take account of variations (A) between train operating companies, (B) temporally and (C) geographically; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is developing a new process for a consistent method of calculating overcrowding in commuter areas across the network. It will be based upon the existing Passengers In Excess of Capacity (PIXC) mechanism used for London commuter operators and for services from Fife into Edinburgh.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made by (a) his Department and (b) the Strategic Rail Authority in reducing levels of overcrowding on the rail network; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: A number of measures have been introduced to reduce overcrowding including: the introduction of new trains that are designed to accommodate high loading levels; additional rolling stock to increase the number of vehicles available; and franchise commitments to improve services.

Rail Services (Overcrowding)

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of the measure of overcrowding levels of rail passenger services outlined (a) in A New Deal for Transport, (b) in Transport 2010: The Ten Year Plan, (c) within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of September 1999 and (d) within his Department's direction and guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority of July 2001; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: There is a requirement in the draft Directions and Guidance provided by the Secretary of State in July to reduce overcrowding to meet Strategic Rail Authority standardsno passengers standing for journeys of more than 20 minutes, no more than 30 per cent. standing for shorter journeysby 2010.

Integrated Transport Research

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon on the progress his Department has made towards developing an integrated transport policy as outlined in (i) A New Deal for Transport and (ii) Transport 2010: The Ten Year Plan; if he will place copies of the documentation in relation to this research which is not publicly available in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The DTLR Science and Innovation Strategy covers all research commissioned by the Department and states the general policy of open publication of research requirements and results. It is available at http://www.research.dtlr.gov.uk/sis2001/ index.htm
	The draft Strategy for Integrated Transport Research was published for consultation in March 2001 and is available on the web at http://www.dtlr.gov.uk/itwp/ consult/research/index.htm.
	It highlights those areas where research is already being carried out in support of the Government's integrated transport objectives and outlines the key strategic research issues arising from A New Deal for Transport and Transport 2010The Ten Year Plan.
	Details of the Department's transport research programmes are published annually, and are also available on DTLR's website at the following address: http://www.research.dtlr.gov.uk/research/03.htm. These documents set out the objectives and priorities of the individual research programmes, summarise latest research findings and provide details of new projects.
	Copies of these documents are being placed in the Libraries of the House.

Integrated Transport Research

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what research his Department has (a) carried out, (b) commissioned and (c) consulted upon in relation to progress made towards the development of (i) a real time travel information service, (ii) Transport Direct and (iii) a comprehensive travel information and retailing service; if he will place copies of documentation in relation to this research which is not publicly available in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The following research is currently under way on real time information:
	a wide ranging market research programme is in the process of being let. This will include the extent to which the public seek real time information and the manner in which they wish to see it delivered.
	We are also seeking the creation of common standards for bus real time information systems, and are currently preparing a specification to outline common standards and compatibility for real time information systems. A consultation document will be released in the new year.
	On the railway network, the Strategic Rail Authority has funded a feasibility study on Real Time Train Movements (RTTM) and this is due to report in March 2002.
	On Transport Direct, which will be a comprehensive travel information and retailing service, the following major items of research have been commissioned or conducted. For a full list, please refer to the annual Departmental Research Compendium, Roads and Local Transport Research Programme: Compendium of Research Projects 20002001, a copy of which is already in the House of Commons Library.
	The Transportation Research Group (TRG) at Southampton University has recently carried out a review of previous, current and planned research in areas relevant to Transport Direct. Their report is available on my Department's website and the report will be placed in the Library.
	We have commissioned a data management framework study, to define the way in which data may be input, exchanged, transferred, retrieved and manipulated. This study will allow us to assess the data management task that Transport Direct will need to tackle.
	We have some research under way looking at the standards which will be necessary for Transport Direct and seeing whether further standards should be developed.
	We envisage further technological work being commissioned to underpin Transport Direct.
	Work has begun on the development of a Business Plan for Transport Direct. This will be published next summer.
	Further research may also be necessary to support traveline.

Transport Direct

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will provide details of progress which has been made by his Department with the delivery of Transport Direct against the timetable originally outlined; what further steps he plans to take to implement these plans according to the original timetable; what amendments to the original timetable (a) have been made and (b) are planned; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The 10-Year Plan, published in July 2000, said that by 2003 we expect Transport Direct to include:
	real-time train operating information;
	real-time information on many local bus services;
	internet travel information, covering road journeys as well as all forms of public transport at a single point of contact;
	internet booking of long-distance journeys involving different forms of transport; and
	development of internet based maps that allow travellers to examine public transport options both for visiting a specific venue and for general travel around an area.
	We are on course to deliver these targets.
	Since the publication of the 10-Year Plan, we have made considerable progress:
	Traveline is up and running;
	Traveline has a website and an increasing number of areas should be added to this during 2002;
	Journey Solutions is expecting to launch the work it is doing in spring 2002 and has added several new schemes;
	a feasibility study for rail real time has started and should report in March 2002;
	we are investing heavily20 millionin bus real time systems next year as part of the local transport plan arrangements;
	Sir Malcolm Field has been appointed as Transport Direct's external adviser.

Rail Regulator

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 789W, what form this contact takes.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend maintains oral and written contact with the Rail Regulator.

Central Railway

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement about Central Railway.

John Spellar: The Government are considering carefully Central Railway's proposals for a hybrid Bill. We will take a view on the issues raised by proposals, including the conclusions of the SRA's high level review, and respond to Central Railway in due course.

Government Offices (Access)

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  what (a) procedure and (b) consultation took place in respect of the closure of the access to Ambassadors entrance to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and how long he expects it to be closed;
	(2)  when and under what authority an order was placed to close Downing street to public access; what discussions were held with interested parties; and if he will make a statement on (a) the public right of way and (b) the Highways designation in Downing street;
	(3)  what public right of way there is to the Ambassadors entrance to the Foreign Office.

John Spellar: Downing street is a public highway for which Westminster city council is the highway authority. The road at the Ambassador's entrance is owned by the Royal Parks Agency, and is not a public right of way.
	Access to both roads is controlled by the police under common law powers which allow them to take reasonable steps to preserve the peace and prevent threats to it. The level of restriction by the police is constantly under review.

Local Authorities (Best Value Regime)

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will abolish the best value regime.

Alan Whitehead: No. It is clear that many authorities have used best value to make substantial improvements in services and savings. We want to make it even better which is why my right hon. Friend initiated a three month review of best value in October. The review has brought in expertise and experience from a wide range of bodies with an interest in improving public services. We aim to produce new guidance in early 2002.

National Air Traffic Services

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans NATS has to increase its prices to customers in line with other European countries following the events of 11 September.

David Jamieson: NATS has published its en-route charges for 2002 and in line with its regulatory requirements its element of the UK Unit Rate is to decrease by RPI3 per cent. with effect from 1 January 2002. Any review of the price cap relating to NATS' charges is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority.

National Air Traffic Services

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which centralised functions will go to Scotland as a result of the NATS facilities review.

David Jamieson: NATS is currently reviewing its accommodation requirements. No firm decisions have yet been taken. NATS is consulting widely on its Business Plan which assumes that the Manchester Area Control Centre is to be moved to Prestwick.

Jumbo Water Tower, Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will call in for determination the appeals lodged in respect of the Jumbo Water Tower in Colchester; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 17 December 2001
	The Inspector's decision on these appeals has now been issued and the Secretary of State therefore has no further jurisdiction in this matter.

Departmental Policies (East Devon)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the East Devon constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Alan Whitehead: The principal funding that this Department has provided to East Devon district council and Devon county council in the years 199798 to 200102 is shown in the tables. These include grants and borrowing approvals for revenue and capital expenditure.
	It is not possible to determine how much of this money has been spent on East Devon constituency. It is for the local authority to decide where within its boundary these resources are applied.
	
		 million 
		
			 Nature of funding  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 East Devon district council   
			 Revenue Support Grant(64) 2.510 2.173 2.086 1.742 2.063 (65)1.541 
			 Income from National Non-Domestic Rates(64) 3.924 3.949 4.272 4.738 4.738 (65)5.385 
			 Housing Investment Programme (68)0.518 0.671 1.007 (69)1.715 (70)3.220 (71)1.204 
			 Housing Revenue Account Subsidy 0 0 0 0 (74)1.383 n/k 
			 Capital Receipts Initiative 0.162 0.495 0.000 n/a n/a  
			 Single Capital Pot(66)  0.477 
			
			 Devon county council   
			 Revenue Support Grant(64) (67)266.389 155.634 158.924 150.930 166.866 (65)153.390 
			 Income from National Non-Domestic Rates(64) (67)205.912 138.460 151.558 173.050 170.054 (65)187.755 
			 Local Government Reorganisation Supplementary Credit Approval 1.812 0.765 0 0 0  
			 Transport Supplementary Grant 1.738 1.238 1.861 0 0 0 
			 Transport Supplementary Credit Approvals 0 0 0 0 1.350 1.000 
			 Transport Annual Capital Guideline 1.738 1.238 1.861 0 0 (73)n/a 
			 Transport Block Supplementary Credit Approval 2.560 1.214 2.842 10.281 20.703 (73)n/k 
			 Rural Bus Challenge Grant(72) 0 0 0.640 0.300 n/k n/k 
			 Rural Bus Subsidy Grant 0 1.409 1.409 1.409 1.799 2.059 
			 Capital Challenge (Supplementary Credit and Basic Credit Approvals) 2.694 2.257 1.554 0 0  
			 Single Capital Pot(66)  40.498 
		
	
	(64) The amounts of Revenue Support Grant and Income from National Non-Domestic Rates shown for 199798 and 199899 are the revised amounts allocated underThe Local Government Finance Report (England) 199798 Amending Report 1999 and The Local Government Finance Report (England) 199899 Amending Report 2000 respectively.
	(65) The amounts of Revenue Support Grant and Income from National Non-Domestic Rates shown for 200203 are provisional and are subject to change. Final figures will be available in February 2002.
	(66) 200203 is the first year of the Single Capital Pot. It is a cross-service capital allocation mechanism incorporating funding for Transport, Housing, Education and Social Services. The funding is not ring-fenced for any particular service so Councils have flexibility to take national and local priorities into account in determining their investment plans. Education and Social Services allocations do not appear in the table for earlier years.
	(67) Devon was subject to a Structural Change Order on 1 April 1998. The figures for Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates quoted for Devon county council for 199798 include an amount for the areas covered by The City of Plymouth and The Borough of Torbay. The figures for 199899, 19992000, 200001 and 200102 exclude the amount for the areas covered by The City of Plymouth and The Borough of Torbay.
	(68) 199798 HIP allocation inherited from the previous Government's spending plans. Present Government introduced CRI from 199798
	(69) Single Housing Pot introduced from 200001 resulting in CRI being merged with HIP
	(70) Resource accounting has resulted in a change to the way capital resources are allocated for 200102, with the introduction of a new Major Repairs Allowance (MRA) to cover the cost of maintaining local authority housing in a sound condition. East Devon's MRA allocation for 200102 is 2.274 million and, for comparison purposes, is included in the 200102 HIP allocation above.
	(71) HIP allocation only, MRA and Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) allocations for 200203 not yet announced. DFG included within HIP figures shown for all years 199798 to 200102.
	(72) Rural Bus Challenge figures represent awardsactual spend profiles for schemes may cover more than one year. Awards for 200102 and 200203 not yet announced.
	(73) Transport Annual Capital Guidelines are included in the Single Capital pot for 200203. Prior to 200203 and the introduction of the Single Capital Pot, the transport block was allocated through Supplementary Credit Approvals.
	(74) Provisional
	Parts of the Constituency were included in the areas covered by one SRB scheme. Funding provided for the scheme since 199798 is included in the table.
	
		SRB scheme
		
			  Unlocking potential 
		
		
			 199798 128,000 
			 199899 134,000 
			 19992000 128,000

Railway Line Closures

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what contingency plans his Department and the SRA have made for line closures.

David Jamieson: holding answer 18 December 2001
	There are statutory procedures prescribed in the Railways Act 1993, as amended by the Transport Act 2000, which must be followed before a full line closure can take place. There are currently no plans to take forward any new closure proposals.

Road Accident Blackspots

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions where the top six predicted road accident blackspots are; and what estimate he has made of the predicted number of deaths in each one in the next 30 year period.

David Jamieson: It is not possible to predict where specific accident blackspots will be in the future. Casualties at different sites vary from year to year and the numbers can be affected in particular years by major incidents which are not typical.

Operation Stack (Working Party)

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will announce his decision on the recommendations contained in the report of the working party into alternatives to Operation Stack.

John Spellar: holding answer 18 December 2001
	My officials have scrutinised the report of the working party into the provision of an alternative to Operation Stack. It is important that we find the right way forward and further consideration is being given as to the way ahead in liaison with Kent CC. Decisions will be made in due course.

Air Safety

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the relationship between the Civil Aviation Authority Economic Regulator and Safety Regulator, with particular reference to the means by which they communicate to ensure air safety.

David Jamieson: The Directors of the Consumer Protection Group (which issues airline licences), Economic Regulation Group (ERG) and Safety Regulation Group (SRG) are all members of the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). They all sit on the Executive Committee, which has responsibility for corporate governance, the approval of strategy and ensuring the development and execution of policy.
	In the event of there being concerns about the financial viability of an air operator or an air traffic service provider, particularly where the safety of operations may be affected, arrangements are in place for this to be brought to the immediate attention of the Group Director Safety Regulation. The Safety Regulator, based on the information before him, would in turn instigate appropriate action to ensure the continued maintenance of air safety.
	Section 2(1) of the Transport Act 2000 enshrines the paramountcy of safety by placing it ahead of other regulatory considerations for the CAA. Furthermore the CAA has set up an internal committee comprising representatives of SRG, ERG and the Directorate of Airspace Policy to exercise oversight of the air traffic services licence.
	The primary objective of the Chairman of the CAA is to ensure that the CAA continues to promote, in an efficient and cost-effective way, high standards of safety in all aspects of civil aviation.